


X/Tokyo Babylon/xxxHolic: Moebius

by Legume_Shadow



Category: CLAMP - Works, Tokyo Babylon, X -エックス- | X/1999, xxxHoLic
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe, Cameo by Other CLAMP Characters, Crackish Fic That Is Also Sort Of Serious, End of the World, Feel Free To Ship Your Own Ships, Gen, Multi, Really Should Be Called End of the World (Second Round), Ships Ahoy (author ships too many ships)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2015-07-27
Packaged: 2018-04-08 05:54:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 24,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4293264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legume_Shadow/pseuds/Legume_Shadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the end of the Mayan calendar approaches, those who survived the events of 1999 will once again, find themselves fighting to save the world.  Though they number few, they are not alone as allies from other worlds, both dead and alive, join them.  Will they have the strength to keep Humanity alive, or will they perish and let the world die?</p><p>X/TB continuation/alt-universe, xxxHolic canon-stretching/alt-universe, TRC compliant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1: Messenger (A)

**Author's Note:**

> First Publishing: July 2015, AO3  
> Disclaimer: All characters (except for the ones created by me) belong to their respective owners. No profit is being made from this work of fiction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited on 9 July 2015: Replaced/switched around Watanuki's name - apparently, I accidentally published it backwards from my usual naming convention. Apologies to all.

**Part 1: Messenger (A)**

 

Tourists, cultists, even just curious passerbys who had rarely seen the sun rise on this particular day, the Autumnal Equinox, crowded around the area, waiting with breathless anticipation for the sun to rise. As chilly as it was with the cool breeze blowing across the plains, many of them were huddling together for warmth and chatting with their friends to stave off the coldness. For one particular person, he was dressed head-to-toe in black but to offset the depressingly dark color, there was a light beige-colored trench coat wrapped around his lithe frame. His hair was cut short, shorter than it had been thirteen years ago on that fateful day. However, despite the cold demeanor that he carried around himself which caused most of the crowd to shy away from him and the woman he was standing next to, his expression was anything but.

Dissonance seemed to emanate from him whenever someone glanced over at him, seeing a serene look upon his face that greatly contrasted with the cool, detached stance he was standing in. However, if anyone decided to glance again at his face when it was lighter out, they would have seen two brilliant emerald green eyes staring off into the distance, though one of the eye color was just an illusion – but no one did. It was still quite dark, though dawn was already saturating the air and the sun would be up soon.

He was far from home, but his client, a severe-looking woman who stood in highly expensive black pumps that were lined with red on the underside, and dressed herself quite sharply in a business suit, had requested him here. It was on the other side of the world, thirteen years after the fated day that the world was supposed to end, that Sumeragi Subaru found himself staring at the area where the sun would be rising and splitting into Stonehenge.

Since that day, even though the barrier to protect Earth had been successfully created by Shirou Kamui and entrusted for safekeeping to Monou Fuuma, Japan had settled down. There was the occasional earthquake, but only because the Earth was adjusting to the new order. Last year's major earthquake off of the Miyagi prefecture coastline had scared everyone, but despite the devastation that had been rendered to Sendai and her surroundings towns, none of the spiritualists in the country could find fault. Even the Sakurazukamori had been requested by the government to investigate the incident, since western governments were started to get worried about the coming portended date for the end of the Mayan long-form calendar.

Though there had been nothing spiritually unusual found, two weeks ago, Subaru had received an rather strange request. The Japanese embassy in the United Kingdom had requested that an onmyouji be sent. Of course, the Japanese government had questioned as to why that particular embassy could not use the United Kingdom's local magik practitioners to deal with whatever spiritual nuisance was bothering them. It was the reason why that was sent back that had surprised not only the government to request the best onmyou practitioner, but to also expedite the request and overrule any current requests on hand. Not two minutes after Subaru had received the email about the request on his white mobile, black cars and sharply dressed people had shown up at the corner of intersection he had been standing at, demanding that he go with them. Not wanting to make a scene, he complied and was surprised to find himself being raced to Narita Airport and ushered onto a private jet. Said private jet had brought him to Heathrow Airport and there, a black limo with the flags and plates declaring it an ambassadorial vehicle had zipped him away to the Japanese Embassy.

For the past two weeks, he had been taken around many spiritually powerful sites in the United Kingdom. Each area he had stepped foot into had been greatly disturbed, though wards had been erected by magik practitioners employed by the English government. It had been the English government who approached the Japanese embassy for help – their magik practitioners had done everything they could to calm the disturbed area down, but no matter what they tried, it seemed that the spirits would not be settled or led to eternal rest. Even other various powerful practitioners from other countries had been requested to help. Subaru was just the last of them to show up. Strangely, it took the combined strength of not only him but other practitioners to purge each site.

Stonehenge was the last site, and though they had confidently sealed the area about two hours before people started to gather for the Autumnal Equinox sunrise, he remained. It was only out of pure curiosity at seeing a once-in-a-lifetime sunrise through an ancient site that he stayed. It had been so long since he felt anything remotely foreign yet at the same time, familiar, and it felt like a touch of ice-cold pure water had been doused upon his burning skin.

For thirteen years, he had tried to continue on with his life, to try to purge the emotional upheaval that had happened during that fateful year, to purge the thoughts and regrets that he had, to purge anything and everything associated with _that_ particular man, but each morning, he woke up to find two orbs staring at him in the mirror. One was emerald green, the other was a golden amber color. It was disquieting, disturbing, and filled him with an empty sorrow that could never be erased, but it was something that he somehow lived with for the past thirteen years. Fate had drawn them together, and fate had determined what their destines would be, and so, after the dust settled in 1999, he had left without a word to the surviving Dragons, and disappeared.

For three years, he had plunged himself into the world of the Sakurazukamori, initially hating the fate that had been bestowed upon him. With the Sakura Tree whispering constantly in the back of his mind, it took the first five kills that had been requested by the Japanese government for him to finally keep down the bile that threatened to rise after each kill. Each one thereafter had gotten easier and easier for him to detatch himself from, and soon, he was only seeing red, smelling blood, and tasting copper. Each kill had been fed to the damn tree who whispered venomously sweet words, in the voice of Sakurazuka Setsuka, into his ears whenever he slept. They were not in the voice of the person he loved most, for his first kill had not been fed and bound to the tree – he had not known how to do that until the second time. A part of him was glad though, for the fact that Sakurazuka Seishirou was not eternally bound to the damned tree as the previous Sakurazukamori had been.

It was in the beginning of the fourth year, that he had been confronted during a kill by two curious-looking girls. Both were identical-looking though it was the color of their hair and eyes that separated them – one pink, the other light blue. They had seen him kill, and as the Sakurazukamori, it was his duty to never let anyone survive if they had seen him kill. The girls had escaped his attacks, and had led him on a chase; though he thought that they would have split up to draw his attention, they did not. Instead, they had led him to a small, strange house situated in the middle of the city. While strangely ordinary-looking, he had sensed a great amount of unusual power emanating from the house and thus sent his guard up with the Sakura Tree still whispering in the back of his mind – ready to augment his powers.

Stepping into the front of the house, he was immediately greeted by a tall woman dressed in a high-necked, floor-length tight black dress with sheer purple-black laces for sleeves. Though she was already quite tall, she was at least a head taller than Subaru with the heels that she wore. However, it was the confidence that she carried herself with, seemingly gliding towards him, along with the oozing of power that kept him incredibly wary of her. However, instead of attacking, she had merely introduced herself as Yuuko the Dimensional Witch.

So began his introduction to the fact that with Kamui's successful shattering of a one, linear future, he had enabled the creation and propagation of multiple universes. He learned that Yuuko was the so-called gatekeeper and that in exchange for something a client of hers wanted, she would grant their Wish. He knew that in a way, the nature of Dark Kamui had never been fully purged after 1999, but seeing the Wish granting continue to live on angered him slightly. Before his anger could grow though, Yuuko had told him that his grandmother had requested her to track him down, and she had complied with her Wish.

He had almost turned and walked away, not wanting to face his grandmother after all that had happened. She never knew the true details of why exactly he had became fixated on hunting down the Sakurazukamori before 1999, and after that, he had thought it would have been better for the entire Sumeragi clan to think of him dead from the events. He thought of himself as so. However, Yuuko had then warned him that the price paid to find him was high and that if he walked out now, there would even be a higher price to pay.

Damn his heart, for even after three years of cold-blooded killing, allowing the festering pain and sorrow to worm and eat away at him, there was still a small spot inside of him that didn't want his grandmother to continue to suffer on his behalf. He already had enough of people sacrificing themselves for him and thus, he had stayed. He had then wrapped an illusion around his amber eye and proceeded into the small house. He had been fortunate that his victim's blood had not splashed on him when he had been interrupted in the assassination attempt, but he still forced himself to relax. His grandmother and the Sumeragi clan did not need to know that their Thirteenth Head was also the Sakurazukamori.

It became apparent to him when he entered the chamber where his grandmother sat, wheelchair and all, as to what exactly she had sacrificed just to find him. Not one speck of power was left inside of his grandmother, and to him, she felt as normal as any other citizen – albeit she looked much older than he remembered her to be. Had the past years since the near-end of the world been that much of a toll on her? He had not apologized to her for his long disappearance, but it seemed that she did not expect it either. The two of them quietly spoke, though it was mainly his grandmother who explained to him what had been going on since the new era had been ushered in. He didn't know how long they had talked for, but when everything was said and done, it was then that Subaru had resolved to do what had never been done before in the history of their clan.

He would secretly remain as the Sakurazukamori, but he would also continue to carry out the duties of the Sumeragi clan. It was an unholy alliance, made in part because of the memories that tormented him, but also because there was a balance that had been finally achieved. It was both a gift and a curse, a desire and fulfillment; opposite sides finally upon the same coin. He would be the last Head of not only the Sumeragi household, but also of the Sakurazukamori line. Whatever came after his death, if he was allowed to finally die, would be of no consequence or care to him.

“It's starting!”

The excited murmurs that flowed around the sacred area like a fresh wave snapped him out of his thoughts as he saw the startling peek of light like a brilliant diamond emerge from the horizon. Shading his eyes slightly, he pulled out a pair of dark sunglasses and put them on. Beside him, he could hear his client do the same, but other than that, she had not spoken one word. He would return to Tokyo soon, but for now, there was a moment of peace that he wanted to capture in his heart. A cool breeze blew through the area as the crowds watched the slow sunrise, the dawn of the autumnal season before the cold dead hands of winter would sweep throughout the northern hemisphere.

* * *

_Twenty four hours later..._

 

“Yes, I understand,” he quietly spoke into the black mobile before hanging up, snapped protective cover casing shut, and tucked it into a pocket. On the other side, in an equally indiscreet pocket contained the other mobile, his white one. Both were designed to receive emails, texts, and both had separate calling plans and numbers. It was how he operated with his dual identities – the black mobile was reserved for Sakurazukamori assignments, the white one for Sumeragi business. It also helped him keep both client lists separate, though there had been a few times since he started this that clients crossed either line. The fortunate part was while he was visible as Head of the Sumeragi household, as the Sakurazukamori, he never had to show his face to clients when accepting the job.

It had only been three hours since he had landed, but there was no rest for the busy. He had clients on both sides who wanted him to finish their requests and thus, even after a fitful amount of sleep he had gotten on the private jet back to Japan, he plunged straight into work. He could still hear the ghost of his sister's voice admonishing him for his lack of rest and nourishment, but he didn't care anymore. The two people he loved the most were gone from this life and though they remained in his memories, they were only that – memories.

“Ah, pardon me, but are you Sumeragi Subaru?” a nervous voice asked from behind him.

It had been quite a long time since he had actually been startled, for every person around him had a presence that he constantly felt. Turning around, he found himself staring down at a gangly-looking teenager who had a mop of black hair, curiously pale eyes that were colored either violet or blue – he couldn't tell in the afternoon light – dressed in a high school uniform. This person, similar to the two pink-and-blue girl familiars that the Dimensional Witch had sent out long ago, had a very strange presence. He blinked, and for a brief moment, he thought he saw someone else overlaid with the young man – another teenager, though this time with brown hair, and brown eyes that carried an intense gaze – but that brief vision was gone as fast as it came.

“Yes,” he answered in a short tone.

The teenager gave a slight bow and straightened before saying, “I'm Watanuki Kimihiro. Yuuko-san asked me to fetch you and bring you back to her as quickly as possible.”

“What does the Dimensional Witch want?” he asked, though managed to keep his tone as neutral as possible. While his first encounter with the powerful woman had not ended up in blood being drawn, it had not ended on a high note. As soon as his grandmother had left, the Witch had dropped the illusion on pleasantry and bluntly told him that she was disappointed in him. As to what it was that she was disappointed about, he received no answer, and did not even seek out one. He had left the place, knowing that though the possibility of the two people he treasured may still be alive in another world, they were not the ones he remembered – he would never go back, no matter how much he wanted to change the past, no matter how much he wanted the pain to end. He knew that the price he would pay for that would never be enough – and it seemed that the Witch knew that as well.

“I-I don't know,” the teenager admitted. “I was just told to tell you this if you asked me: the Moebius is giving you and the others three months to prepare.”

“December twenty-first,” he murmured to himself as he found the corners of his lips turning slightly downwards. While the rest of the world, mainly the western nations, were all up in arms with the occult pertaining to the end of the Mayan long form calendar, Japan and her neighboring countries seemed not to care. 1999 was the year they had worried the most about, and that had passed in relative silence for the world. Only those who had survived the events remembered anything about the bloody battles and mass destruction that had nearly been rendered to Tokyo. Of course, there were more than a few believers living in Japan who believed the end of the world was going to happen, since in this day and age, the internet was widespread and news was at everyone's fingertips. It felt exactly like the words that the teenager had said – the Moebius strip was about to wrap around itself again and meet the same point it started upon, still on the same face. But none of the cataclysmic things that had happened leading up to the end of the world in 1999 had happened yet. Apart from the devastating Tohoku Earthquake, the earth seemed relatively calm and still cocooned within the Barrier.

As much as he wanted to ignore the request from the Dimensional Witch, his curiosity had been piqued (two times within a thirty-six hour period – how long had it been since he had something like that happen to him?). A transaction between his painful memories and the Witch would never happen, but perhaps he could get some answers from the Witch with regards to the United Kingdom's spiritual instability. The previous Head of the Sumeragi household had peacefully passed away two years ago, and thus he could no longer turn to her for possible answers.

With his mind made up, he knew that he would have to put a hold on the other jobs he had, and the prey of the Sakurzukamori that had just been requested by an official over the black mobile would at least have a stay of execution for a few hours. “Please lead the way, Watanuki-san.”

As the thin teenager took the lead, Subaru followed a few steps behind, still puzzled as to why the presence of Watanuki Kimihiro felt quite strange. He was definitely human, definitely alive, but Subaru could not figure out why just from physical observations, why the teenager felt like a familiar, a shell and substitute. It felt like someone else, perhaps the brown-haired and eyed teenager he had briefly seen overlaid, should have been in Watanuki's place, but perhaps not? Shaking his head slightly, he refrained himself from casting a spell in public and decided to leave it alone for now.

Three subway stops, along with a change at one of the three stops, and a short hop on one of the JR train lines later, they were walking down the quiet street towards the house where the Dimensional Witch lived. When they arrived, the teenager entered the small courtyard first, and still as wary as ever, Subaru followed. There were still powerful wards and the lingering scent and feeling of spells around the area. He was also surprised to actually feel a ghost of a presence of the Sakura Tree lingering in the area, but it was quickly dashed away when his own Sakura Tree made her presence known in a rush of whispers in his mind. The foreign presence was identified as an alternate world, and he briefly wondered who was the owner of the alternate world Sakura Tree before following Watanuki into the house of the Dimensional Witch.

The Witch's two familiars greeted him with cheer, and before either could attempt to grab his hands, he shoved them deep into his coat's pockets. Disappointment flashed across their faces before they flounced away, beckoning for him to follow them. Reluctantly, he did, and soon, he was led into a room where he saw the Witch lounging across an elaborately patterned and expensive-looking settee. There was a _kiseru_ held in between the elegantly long fingers of her left hand, with a thin smoke curling up from the end of it. Her outfit this time was a dark red dress with a plunging neckline that contained swirls of black and white ruffles around the edges – strangely enough, Subaru thought that his sister, had she been alive, would either design or wear something like that too. Mentally shaking the thought free, he stood where he was, glaring at her as he felt her cat-like gaze pinned upon him.

It was the sound of Watanuki rushing in with a tray of tea and tea cups that broke the uneasy tension between the two of them. The teenager set the tray down on the table next to the settee, just as he saw the Witch languidly rise up and approach the table. Silently gesturing for him to also sit, he did so, but not before she had fully seated herself first. Sliding into the polished, high-backed chair, he brought his hands out of his pockets and folded them as he rested his arms on the table. He did not feel like taking tea with the Witch and only wanted to hear what she was going to say before taking his leave.

“Watanuki,” the Witch spoke up, “please stay.”

Out of the corner of his eyes, Subaru could see the teeanger stiffen for a moment before nodding and took a seat on the far side of the room, attempting to give some semblance of privacy between her and her client. Returning his attention to the Witch, he heard her say, “This is not a request from me or any person _here_ , Sumeragi-san. It is a request from a friend who will be paying the equivalent exchange in order for you to receive the other person's message.”

“December twenty-first,” he calmly stated, noting that though the Witch's words were quite peculiar, it had told him that the Witch was merely being a messenger in this particular case. “Does this request have to do anything with it?”

“Yes,” she stated. “In order to receive the full message, you will have to enter a state of living death. The one who wants to speak to you is dead. Merely attempting to commune with this person will not work, Sumeragi-san. This person does not linger in our world and has been living in Enma for quite some time.”

Subaru thinned his lips as he stared at the Witch. While there were dangers of just trying to exorcise spirits, especially angry and vengeful ones, rarely has anyone walked into the fields of Enma while still alive. It was seldom done, even by onmyouji, for there were inherent dangers to it that were not only physical but also spiritual. If wards and precautions were not taken or properly set up, there was a very real chance that the living soul could get trapped in that place, never to return. Out in the physical world, time also passed in a much quicker fashion than the stand still of time in Enma – in the netherworld. He remembered from his studies that told him that what felt like only a few minutes in the land of the eternal dead could be equivalent to an hour, days, weeks, even months in the land of the living. The living human body could only last less than two weeks with no water and food, a month at most with just water. Several onmyouji of old had died before, in an attempt to commune and cross the land of the dead to find answers.

“Who is the one who sent you the message?”

“A powerful sorceress from another world named Sakura,” the Witch answered. “In her world, she is also dreamseer.”

“Then who does she want me to speak to?” he asked, frowning slightly. Dreamseers still existed in this world, but none of them were as powerful as Lady Hinoto or the Dragons of Earth's dreamseer, Kuzuki Kakyou, had been. An uneasy feeling crawling up his stomach and in response, he could feel the presence of the Sakura Tree wrap itself tighter around him, ready to pour her power into him when he needed it. The cool, razor-sharp whispers of Setsuka followed, but he roughly batted it away from his mind.

“She communed with your sister, Hokuto and in turn, gave me the message that I passed onto you via Watanuki.”

His heart sank. Thirteen long years, and only now, did Hokuto even attempt to reach out to him, even by proxy. He had hoped that she was quite at peace with what had happened all of those years ago – and that she did not blame herself for what happened on that fateful day at the Rainbow Bridge. He knew that it was only because Kakyou loved Hokuto, that he had crossed the line between death and life to bring the spirit of Hokuto briefly back to the land of the living in one last attempt to wake him. It had barely worked in time for him to wake up and run to Kamui's aid at Tokyo Tower.

“I will answer the request,” he quietly said after a few moments of silence.

* * *

“ _Hold onto me and don't let go until I say so.”_

 

Descending into the netherworld, land of the dead, Enma, Heaven, Hell, Hades, Dante's Inferno, dark space, no man's land, or whatever name someone had the whimsical fancy of calling it where the dead eternally rested was much like descending into the Mind Within. At least that was what Subaru initially thought of as both he and Watanuki passed the first calm layer and were suddenly buffeted by howling winds. It was not by choice that the Witch's servant, aide, whatever she deemed Watanuki Kimihiro to be, joined him in this journey. She had merely stated that while she would anchor both of them in the living and ensure that they did not die, the teenager was to go with him to collect the payment. He had a brief thought as to what exactly could a dead person provide with payment, but did not ask that question. He had merely glanced over to see that Watanuki looked quite pale and frightened at the prospect of being so near death to retrieve something for the Witch.

Still, they kept falling, passing the storm which did not leave any psychic marks on them, and he felt Watanuki tighten his grip on on his arm as the next layer made it almost impossible to even draw any air. As strange as it was, even though his physical body still drew air, Subaru unconsciously found himself trying to breathe through his nose, trying to ease the pressure in his chest. He looked over to see that the teenager's face was turning purple, and as the pain in his chest became unbearable, he opened his mouth. All the remaining tiny pockets of air vacated his lungs and sent him spiraling into the darkness.

When he next awoke, it was to the vision of a flat, grey-looking ground in a shapeless environment. There was some light, but only enough that he could see an outline of himself, and further away, he saw the curled lump of Watanuki. There was no pain in his chest, and from what he could see and feel, there was nothing physically wrong. Slowly getting up, he did, however, feel quite a pounding headache that was slowly subsiding as he felt the power of the Sakura Tree alleviate the spiritual pressure running through his mind.

The entire place was saturated with it, and indeed, it felt neither good or bad – but it was expected, for the texts that he had read had described the land of the dead as the only place where a spiritual master, no matter what sect could either decide to drown in such a place or let it support and nourish. Walking over to where the teenager was, he knelt down and shook him by the shoulder. The strange presence from Watanuki was gone, and was fully replaced by a normal, living presence, which made Subaru suspicious. Surely the teen was not a dead spirit possessing a body, was he? He knew that the Witch was no idiot to leash a spirit, vengeful or not, to the land of the living.

Watanuki groaned before slowly uncurling himself as Subaru dropped the thought and stepped back. Slowly, the lanky teen opened his eyes and sat up, blinking in confusion. Waiting for a moment more, Subaru did not offer any explanation except to begin walking away, wondering how he was going to find Hokuto in this desolate, empty swath of a land. He could hear the footsteps of Watanuki catch up, but the teenager did not attempt to cling onto his arm like he did earlier. There was an inherent knowledge that it was now safe to no longer stay attached to each other – they were definitely in Enma.

“I'd thought it would be happier, with flower fields and trees,” he heard Watanuki say as he continued walking. “This...is...empty... and silent.”

“It is only empty to those who arrive while still among the living, Watanuki-kun.”

Subaru turned, just as a brilliant swath of light seared across his eyes, before dying down to reveal the seaside, cliffs, and the sound and sights of seagulls. The ground beneath him and the teenager had been transformed into rocks, and there was even a gentle sea breeze that blew by, carrying the fresh scent of salt water. As peaceful as the scene was, there was one person standing before both of them, dressed in a dark blue men's yukata with an equally dark obi wrapped around his waist.

The man bowed and introduced himself, saying, “I am Kuzuki Kakyou. Please to finally meet your aquaintance, Watanuki Kimihiro.” To Subaru, the man said, “It has been a while, Sumeragi-san.”

“Kakyou-san,” he greeted in a neutral tone.

“We know why you're here, Sumeragi-san,” the dreamseer said. “And we thank you for answering our call. Your sister should be arriving in a moment.”

“We?” he sharply questioned, looking around, but did not see anyone else in the vicinity of the seaside landscape. The spiritual pressure was a little too saturated for him to even attempt to feel out who else was watching the conversation – he couldn't even discern the dreamseer's presence from the miasma and could only identify Watanuki's and the Sakura Tree's presences.

Before Kakyou could give him an answer, there was a high-pitched squeal that tore through the air, followed by the cheerful cry of his name, “Subaru!”

His eyes widened of their own accord as he half-spun around, just as his sister, never aging since her death at only sixteen, crashed into him. Despite their height and size difference, she seemed to engulf him in her warm embrace as he found himself automatically responding to the touch. He hugged her tightly, letting her shatter twenty-two years of misery and loneliness, filling up a part of his heart that he had thought had turned into stone.

The twins, separated by life, death, and age, held onto each other for a very long time and though Subaru could _feel_ hot tears streaming down his sister's eyes, seemingly soaking his coat and into his clothes beneath, he merely closed his and breathed in. It was worth it, the near-death experience that he had to set himself in, to see his sister again. It didn't matter anymore if his body in the land of the living withered away, nothing mattered anymore – he was here, he was home, and his dear sister was alive.

“You've grown tall, Subaru,” she whispered, though he was sure he heard an impish tone in her voice as they finally separated and held each other at arm's length. However, the tears in her eyes and the smile she carried wavered as she looked up and raised a hand towards his face. Subaru could feel his euphoric happiness drop like a stone and back into the depths of despair as he realized what she was reaching for. Of course the illusion didn't hold here, especially since this place was supersaturated with spiritual energy. “Your eyes...” she whispered.

He briefly closed them as she rested her cool hand on the side of his face. Gently removing her hand, he opened his eyes again and shook his head – he did not want to talk about it at all. There were too many painful memories that he did not want to share with her. Looking beyond her, he did not see anyone else in the seascape except for the dreamseer and Watanuki, both of whom were standing a ways away. Kakyou had said 'we', so did that mean that others were watching or listening in? He didn't expect any privacy, but he was slightly annoyed that no others who were 'listening' in had showed themselves. If they were watching, then was _he_...?

“Hokuto,” Kakyou gently interrupted. “Neither of them can stay long.”

He saw his sister give a sunny smile before gently taking him by the hands and led him to the seascape's cliff edge. She sat down and he followed before she huffed and asked, “Do you remember what a Moebius strip is?”

“Yes, nee-san,” he answered, briefly enjoying just saying that honorific again.

“It's coming again,” she said, sighing and looked out towards the calm sea. “The end of the world is coming again.”

“Then the end of the Mayan calendar is not a myth?” he questioned.

“Kakyou, Hinoto-sama, Kotori, even dreamseers who are still living have been feeling and seeing the same thing. When Kakyou and Hinoto-sama first saw the dreams, they thought it was only limited to our world. However, when I crossed dreams and into other realms where the dead are connected to, I saw the same vision in other dreamseers. My strongest connections outside of here were to two others, a woman named Li Sakura, and a princess named Tomoyo. Though all five had the same vision, Sakura-san was the one who saw further than any of them. She was the one who warned me to warn others here of the danger that is coming. Something is wandering across worlds, killing and creating more chaos than normal. The dead will rise again, and once December twenty-first comes, the indeterminate future for not only our world, but all others, may cease to exist,” Hokuto explained.

“Were the disturbances in the United Kingdom the first?” he asked.

Instead of answer him, he saw her look towards Kakyou who glanced back and sagely nodded. “There will be more areas around the world, Sumeragi-san,” the dreamseer said. “As to when and where, I cannot see. Including you, there are only six Dragons left to guard the earth.”

“I don't think that any of us can produce a Kekkai,” he pointed out, though he was unsure if his statement was true or not. After he had resurfaced, he had not bothered to contact or keep tabs on any of the remaining Dragons, not wanting to be reminded of the horrible events of 1999. While it was true for him – he could no longer produce and sustain a Kekkai, not since that day on the Rainbow Bridge – speaking for the others was not the wisest idea.

“You hopefully won't need to, Subaru-san,” another familiar voice spoke up from behind.

Turning slightly from where he was sitting, he felt the corners of his lips briefly twitch upwards as he saw yet another familiar face walking across the seascape. With a bright and confident gait, a far cry from the enormous burdens that had been weighed upon his shoulders back then, Subaru was glad to see Shirou Kamui in a much more relaxed state. Stopped in time at the same age that Hokuto had been, but leaving humanity with a gift that could never be repaid, the young man seemed to be at complete peace.

“Heeeey!” he heard Hokuto squeal as she suddenly scrambled up and grasped the young man by a hand and dragged him over. Subaru had also stood up, but made no attempt to approach. “Where's Kotori?” she asked as soon as they returned to the edge of the cliff and let the young man's hand go.

“She said she'll try to make it,” Kamui answered before turning his attention to Subaru. For a moment, neither said a word before the young man quietly, in almost a shy tone, said, “Thank you for what you did that day, Subaru-san.”

That final day came crashing back down upon him like a cold water doused upon his head. Because of what he had seen and endured while Within Kamui's mind, a whisper of a psychic link had been established between the two of them, and through that, he had clearly felt the desperation from the young man, fighting to save Fuuma at Tokyo Tower. Kamui needed power, needed some way to free his friend from the influence of Dark Kamui, and that cry for help had been enough to snap him out of his catatonia with Hokuto's words echoing in his mind. It had been the last time he had summoned his Kekkai, which had been surprisingly powered by a brief surge from the Sakura Tree. Now though, that link had been destroyed upon Kamui's sacrifice, but it still brought a brief bout of happiness to see the young man again.

Unsure as to what to say to Kamui's words, he remained silent, though it was short-lived as Hokuto answered for him, saying, “Well, excuse my brother's lack of manners, Kamui. Anyhow, do you have any more information for him for now? I don't think we can keep him and poor Watanuki-kun here any longer.”

The young man shook his head slightly before saying, “All we ask is that Fuuma is protected. If he dies before December twenty-first, then the earth's Kekkai will be destroyed and this world will fall.”

“If the dead are starting to rise again, then who or what is behind it?” Subaru asked. Usually, disturbances within the spirit world were caused by someone living having a grudge or wanting revenge and summoning demons. However, since the United Kingdom disturbance had been confirmed as to be one of the many instances that would start the destruction of the world again in less than three months, he knew that this was more than just someone wanting vengeance. This was something bigger, something more sinister.

“We don't know,” Kamui answered. “That is what we've been trying to find out since the start of the dreams.”

“Watanuki-kun here will be contacting the remaining five Dragons,” Kakyou spoke up, as he approached with the teenager in tow, who looked sorely confused. “However, I also sense that your time here is expiring and thus, we must send the two of you home for now.”

Even as the dreamseer was saying those words and placing a small, glowing pouch of something within Watanuki's hands, the seascape was rapidly fading back to the dull grey, shapeless horizon of nothingness. Subaru could feel a tug at his navel, urging him to look up, just as he felt his sister gently squeeze one of his arms in farewell. He tried to look back down, but found that he could not as his body started to feel lighter and lighter, with the air around him starting to swirl up into a windstorm...

* * *

Twenty-two years; that was now the gulf that separated her from him, and she knew that it would only grow as time continued to flow. As soon as the visage of her brother faded, Hokuto collapsed on the ground and allowed the tears that she had held back throughout the conversation to fall. She felt Kakyou wrap his arms around her, pulling her close to comfort her, but she could not stop her tears. Nine years, she had dealt with nine years of separation, glad to see how much her brother had grown, but also sad at the same time when she saw just how grief-stricken he had become.

Now though, with the thirteen years that had passed since that fateful year, he was a complete stranger to her. Yes he still looked the same, though it was not only his mis-matched eyes that unsettled her, but mainly the fact that she _felt_ the darkness within him. It was split between black and white, pure and evil, and it lived within her brother's heart. Because of just how saturated it was here in the land of the dead, she knew that her brother could not feel it, but Enma had _reacted_ to such a powerful presence...and it wasn't a good reaction. Kamui's entrance into the land of the dead thirteen years ago was met with a more positive reaction, but nothing comparable to the negative reaction that had just been generated.

She knew that it had taken nearly all of Kakyou's concentration to maintain the seascape's serene atmosphere. Benevolent spirits and other dead who were allied with them had worked unseen outside of the seascape to keep the land of the dead from overreacting. She knew that _when_ – it was not if, it was definitely when – they brought him back down again, Enma might put up another fight or worse, the unknown entity who was causing the disturbance and rise of the dead into the world of the living, would discover their resistance.

Time was irrelevant, but at long last, she calmed herself down enough to extricate herself from Kakyou's warm embrace. Nodding her thanks, she wiped her eyes and felt a soft hand on the side of her left arm. Looking over, she saw the kind and gentle face of Kotori giving her a brave smile. Beyond that, sat Kamui, wistfully looking into the blue skies of the reformed seascape. It was only when she heard the scrape of footsteps along the rocky shoreline that she finally looked beyond Kamui to see the one person she had expected to show up when Subaru and Watanuki were here, but had not.

“Sei-chan,” she whispered, slowly picking herself up off the ground. While she had forgiven him in the nine years leading up to that fateful day, guilt plagued at her for what she had attempted to do to save both of them. Her final spell had backfired, and for the past thirteen years, each time she had asked why, she had never received an answer.

“Sei-chan,” she repeated, this time with more confidence as she strode over, past where Kamui was sitting with a guarded gaze shot straight at the Sakurazukamori. “Why?”

Instead of answer her question, she heard him simply say, “It seems that Enma does not want Watanuki Kimihiro.”

“Yes,” Kakyou agreed, causing her to look back at the dreamsser with puzzlement. She had thought that because her brother was so powerful, it was the reason why the land of the dead 'hiccuped'. But to hear that the teenager who had accompanied Subaru was the one that Enma negatively reacted to was surprising. Everything she had felt from the teenager felt _ordinary_. Why was the land of the dead reacting so badly to such a person?

* * *

Sweet, sweet oxygen flowed into his lungs as he forced stale air to be expelled with a few coughs. Then, the surge of pain attacked his body as he regain consciousness and found himself blinking with each cough. Gasping for air, he forced himself to push past the pain that wracked his body, along with the crawling sensation of pins and needles. He didn't know how long he was like that, alternating between coughing, curling up in pain, and then uncurling because the pins and needles sensation was too much to bear.

Slowly, the hypersensitivity subsided and he finally could get up without feeling like a hundred _sakanagi_ had just descended upon him. His stomach rumbled in hunger and he looked at the old cuckoo clock that was hanging on the wall of this particular room he had been lying in. Nine hours had passed since he had been sent into the death trance, and the Dimensional Witch was no where to be seen.

Glancing over towards the adjacent sofa that he had been lying on, he could see Watanuki still trying to cope with the after-effects of waking up from the trance and left him alone. There was something glowing softly in one of the teen's hands, but he did not attempt to investigate it – he knew that it had come from the land of the dead and that it was payment for their trip. Walking out, he focused on the presence of the Witch and found her standing in the backyard of her modest home.

She was staring up into the inky sky, and there was a small, dark, manjuu-bun-like creature perched on her shoulder. He didn't know what exactly the creature was, other than he could feel that it was magikal. It was no threat to him, and as if finally acknowledging his presence, he saw the Witch turn slightly and give a small nod. However, before he could leave, the air before both him and the Witch seemed to twist. A moment later, there was a _sloop-plop_ sound and it deposited it's payload to the ground.

Subaru tensed, feeling the weight of the Tree and the cautious whispers behind it – the presence he felt from this strangely-dressed man was not entirely benign. He could feel a barrier that was holding back the man's powers, but from what he could feel underneath it, there was a very strong current. The man looked up from his crouch on the ground and slowly stood up. Even in the dimly lit backyard, Subaru could have sworn he had seen the same face before...except younger, and within the impression he had briefly seen overlapping Watanuki's face.

“Yuuko-san,” the man said, nodding in greeting before glancing over towards Subaru. “Ah, and you must be Sumeragi Subaru-san.” Subaru remained silent, but the man did not seemed to take offense at the lack of acknowledgment before continuing to say, “Is Watanuki Kimihiro-kun still inside and recovering?”

“I believe so,” the Witch answered.

The man nodded before again, turning his attention to Subaru and said, “I apologize, Sumeragi-san, that we did not have a chance to meet before I was sent here, but my wife, Sakura, and your sister have met before via dreamseeing. I am Li Syaoran.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, first off, I didn't expect to write this at all. I'm currently stuck in a bad combination of a writer's block and finally resolving a personal crisis that had been plaguing me for a month. What started out as a crack-fic actually turned into a serious one when I took a leafelet out of my original work and placed it into this scenario. *shrug*
> 
> Also, as the tags say, feel absolutely free to ship whoever and whatever you want. I ship just about anything in the CLAMP universe, so the tags are just "guidance" and not absolute ships that will be in the fic. As for updating this fic, it will be dependent on how much I can get done with my other major work.
> 
> Lastly, I do not take the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake lightly, nor of any violent causes (natural and man-made). Sendai was my home for a while and I was devastated to see the destruction that had been rendered. I'm approaching the potential destruction of places quite gingerly, though as expected from my other works, I will not shy away from more realistic aspects of such devastation.


	2. Part 1: Messenger (B)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hot off the press - was not beta'ed.

**Part 1: Messenger (B)**

 

Dawn was spilling over the great city as morning songbirds ruffled their feathers and began chirping and hunting for breakfast. Despite the early start for most of Tokyoites, Syaoran found himself quite wide awake. Traveling to other worlds was much like traveling across different time zones in his home world, and right now, he could imagine that was night time where he had departed from. Closing his eyes for a moment, he could see his beautiful wife preparing for the evening cleansing ceremonies, and though he longed to be with her, he had his duty to carry out here.

His wife, Sakura, was the head priestess and sorceress of their land, and carried out her duties in a similar manner to which onmyou of this particular country in the world did. She also happened to be a dreamseer, gifted with the ability to see many paths of the uncertain future, and it had been her who had first contacted other dreamseers when a sinister-feeling recurring dream recently started. It was she who had sent him to this world, not only to aid the warriors of this world, but to also protect a certain person from what was coming.

Protecting Watanuki Kimihiro was the least he and his wife could do, for they knew what two of their many incarnations had sacrificed and will sacrifice to stop Fei-Wong Reed. Yuuko might be the most powerful entity who 'lived' here, but she was also the Dimensional Witch and thus had a strict set of rules that prevented her from fully shielding Watanuki from the coming chaos. His appearance here was the payment extracted from the many world-traveling transactions he and his wife had contributed to, to help stop Reed.

However, unlike many of the other incarnations of his namesake and of his appearance that he was aware of, especially the one who was currently traveling with three others and Mokona, he had not been gifted with any magical abilities. The only trace of it he was sure that this world's most powerful onmyou had felt from him was the seal that Sakura had gifted upon him to hold his sword within his body. That sword was a sacred weapon that had been enchanted and bestowed upon him when he and Sakura had married many years ago. It also helped augment his physical abilities when not in use, providing him with inhuman abilities to move faster, leap higher, and kick and punch harder. He had never broken the seal since it had been set upon him, but considering what it did to him when unbroken, he could only imagine the amount of power it could unleash when wielded.

Still, he hoped that the situation here would not be dire enough for him to do that. There had initially been a sense of calm that encompassed the entire world, though after he had arrived and introduced himself to the bewildered Sumeragi Subaru, and to Yuuko, he had immediately felt stirrings of spiritual darkness. The Kekkai that protected this world was still strong, but there was something festering within that wanted out. The power behind the seal was not refined enough for him to pinpoint any localized areas of spiritual disturbances, but it gave him a sixth-sense of a sort to identify people who had power and how much of it they had.

Now though, as he approached the school, he could sense the liveliness within the grounds, as students were just beginning to gather and go about their day. He could also sense that Watanuki, even though he was practically on the other side of Tokyo and rushing to his own school, was being shadowed by friends. As for Yuuko, it seemed that the Witch had customers in her shop. For the other protectors of the world – 'Dragons' as Sumeragi had succinctly put it last night – they were scattered around the country, though two of the Dragons were quite far away and almost near the equatorial area of this country's claimed lands.

Though Watanuki had stated that he had been asked by the dead of the world to seek out the rest of the Dragons, Syaoran had volunteered to do that – he was determined to give the teenager a semblance of a normal life, after all, what had befallen him and how he came to exist was a tragedy in itself. Though his volunteering had caught a mildly curious look from Sumeragi, he had not deigned to explain anything else related to his world, the state of the conflict against Fei-Wong Reed, or how he knew things related to this particular world. To explain any of those would bring unnecessary people into the conflict against Reed, and he knew that Yuuko already had her hands full trying to outplay the madman. He did not need to add to that burden.

Sumeragi had not pressed, but did decide to put a modicum of trust within him by explaining what had happened during the short commune with the dead. Whatever was causing the instability in this world was going to increase, that at least Sakura had seen, but she, like the other dreamseers, did not know what exactly was causing it – only that the restless dead and souls who had not yet been led to rest around the world were going to increase the chaos.

Last night, not even a hour after he had arrived, he was surprised to see that Sumeragi was wasting no time in taking the warning to heart and following the brief explanation of what had been said in the world of the dead, had immediately departed with a politely short farewell. Now though, in this relatively peaceful early morning, he could feel the onmyouji somewhere on the south side of the city, performing an exorcism. To him, this particular incarnation of the man named Subaru felt colder, much more worn down, and quite bitter and angry.

It was a far cry from the serene, politely thoughtful and caring incarnation that he had met before. It had been just after he and Sakura had married, and the twin vampires had just arrived on their world quite injured. The one named Kamui had looked quite flustered and ready to attack anything, while Subaru had immediately noticed that they were no longer in battle and became the soothing force that eventually calmed Kamui down. Sakura had granted them sanctuary until they recovered from their wounds and regained strength. She had also befriend Subaru during the twins' recovery and eventually learned as to their reason for hopping from world to world. When they were finally ready to leave, she had given them supplies for their journey, along with a few vials of blood – enchanted pig's blood – for them to consume if they ever needed a quick boost in strength or healing.

Syaoran had wondered how his wife had known to enchant something as strange as that, and she had explained to him that Subaru had explained the necessity of blood and how the two of them used it. It was then that he learned that the two vampires were considered oddities within their society, and then further ostracized when Subaru had saved a traveler's life who had trespassed upon sacred territory instead of taking the traveler's life.

Sighing, he shook his head slightly to dispel the thoughts of the incarnation and stopped at the entrance to the school, hearing the sounds of students of all ages chattering before class started. The campus of the school was enormous, but it was only because he sensed the presence of Monou Fuuma somewhere near this particular area that he arrived here. As the first bell rung, signaling that the students should start to go to in, he waited on the other side of the walled campus until the last of the chatter faded. Only then did he appear and entered through the open gates.

The courtyard was fairly empty except for a couple of students lingering near some steps. Syaoran heard a rather massive door to one of the multiple buildings in this area open, and saw the truant students scuttle into their school, before directing his attention to the spired building to his right. A person, dressed in quite simple but immaculate clothing, emerged from the door as high as the arches and trees that surrounded the building. Short-cropped dark hair ringed a square face, but it was the person's light brown eyes that caught his attention. There was a familiarity within those eyes when the man saw him, but Syaoran did not know who this person was.

“Syaoran?” the man asked. “Li Syaoran?”

“Yes?” he answered, puzzled as the man stopped before him with a ghost of a smile upon his face. However, that smile left as realization seemed to dawn upon the man.

“Ah, I see now,” the man said after a moment. “You're not the Li Syaoran I know. No wonder Rion-san was telling me those things this morning.” The man bowed slightly before straightening and said, “Pardon my rudeness, but I'm Takamura Kouji, headmaster of the CLAMP School and keeper of the campus.”

“Li Syaoran,” Syaoran said, nodding. “Though it seems that you know another me?”

“Yes,” Takamura answered. “Though it was from long ago and I remember him to be much younger. Is it safe for me to assume that you came here via the Dimensional Witch?”

“I did,” he said, relaxing slightly upon hearing the Witch's title mentioned. “I am looking for someone in particular and his presence has led me here. Do you know where I can find a man named Monou Fuuma?”

“Ah, Fuuma-san. He is here, but is currently in meditation. It is a part of his morning routine and none of the instructors or staff members will usually disturb him. Is it something urgent?”

Syaoran was silent for a moment as he thought about the question, and finally said, “No. However, I am looking for others. I heard from the Dimensional Witch that this school has quite an extensive amount resources and can help in locating certain people.”

“We would be honored to help,” Takamura said, gesturing towards the massive doors that he had exited a few minutes ago.

As the two of them walked into the building, Syaoran couldn't help but look up at the high ceilings that were covered in sparkling lights. Mosaic pieces covered parts of the floor, and stained glass windows decorated the sides of the building. Elaborate fixtures were hanging from the walls and the vertical support structures within the building seemed to be cast from marble. However, the two of them did not linger in this particular section and they exited into silent halls. These were open halls through, with the occasional snugly walled off classroom or empty room that was not currently in use. Walking along the open corridors, he couldn't help but marvel at the variety of just how the buildings were architecturally designed to be sharp and somewhat imposing around the campus.

His world was humid, with more rolling and rounded buildings to keep the salty breeze moving through. Floods regularly basted their lands and thus the high rising and swiftly flowing water also contributed to the wear of the buildings. Angular architecture was rarely seen on his world, due to the wind-stopping nature of how they were built. Only the college of priests was built in such a fashion as this particular country's buildings seemed to be built like.

Mentally shaking his head, he looked up to see that they had finally entered a hall that was sealed within another building and had stopped before a set of metal doors. There was a faint ding and the door swiftly opened to show a small box-like room. Takamura stepped in before gesturing for him to follow. As strange and as curious as he was, wondering what the small box-room was, he had not felt any ill intent from Takamura and thus followed. The doors slid shut and Syaoran felt a sudden drop in his stomach just as a slight pressure on his head formed; however, the sensation did not last long.

There was a _ding_ and the doors opened again, showing a different hall decorated with wide and tall windows that showed only blue skies – he realized that he was quite high up in the building. The contraption that had just carried him and the headmaster of the school was quite a marvel, but still, he did not let his thoughts linger on such a piece of technology. Following Takamura out and down the hall, they took a couple of turns before the headmaster stopped at the end of a hall and opened the doors.

Thin rectangular boxes, along with multiple sets of what looked to be like black boxes that whirred in near silence assaulted his vision as he stared incomprehensibly at the chaos before him. Flickering projections of what looked to be information from different areas and in different languages translated into something that he was able to read...well, somewhat read. There were a few characters showing on the projections that he was unfamiliar with.

“I take it that you don't have things like television and internet from where you're from, Syaoran-san?”

“Erm, no,” he said, shaking his head slightly as he continued to stare at what was before him. He didn't know what a 'television' or 'internet' was, but he was quite amazed at the technology displayed before him. While his world had multiple languages, he had learned quite a few, and even Sakura spoke a different language than the native one he had grown up with. Fortunately, even before they had met and fell in love with each other, he had learned Sakura's native language. He was fortunate, that the people in this country spoke and wrote nearly the same dialect and language as Sakura did.

“Well, regardless, this school has information that can receive and send at a command. Please let me know who you would like to contact.”

“I have already met Sumeragi Subaru, who told me that there are other defenders of this world called Dragons. I need to contact them and deliver a message. This message not only affects them and this world, but also other worlds, including the one I traveled from. They need to gather again and protect not only Monou Fuuma, but also the world. There is a great evil that is traveling from world to world, creating chaos and sending the dead to haunt the land of the living. Should the one holding the barrier to this world fall, then all other worlds will follow in its wake.”

Takamura was silent for a very long moment before nodding and hit what looked to be a few raised buttons on a rectangular item on the nearest desk. On the nearest rectangular box, the person that had been talking was suddenly erased and replaced by six pictures with their names written below the pictures, only two of whom Syaoran recognized. It wasn't the fact that Sumeragi was one of the two, but it was the picture labeled 'Monou Fuuma'. He had never met Monou Fuuma before, but he had met a person named 'Fuuma' just before he had met Sakura, and had learned that Fuuma was a Treasure Hunter.

However, the small smile at recognizing another incarnation of a familiar face never made it to his lips, as he heard Takamura say, “There are only six Dragons left to defend the earth, Syaoran-san. Unfortunately, those numbers include Fuuma-san. As for the others, I will contact them, but I do not know how long it will take for them to arrive.”

“I would like to talk to Monou Fuuma face-to-face, if possible,” he said.

“Ah, then I will only inform the other four. As for Fuuma-san, if you would wait a few minutes, he should be done with his meditation soon. I'll take you down to where he is.”

Nodding, he turned his attention towards the projections. He heard Takamura press a few more buttons on the rectangular object on the desk, seemingly making a rapid staccato sound with how fast he was moving his fingers, but found his attention drawn towards what was being displayed on some of the shiny black rectangular boxes. He could feel a frown work its way across his lips as he read what was being displayed on the lower part of the projections.

War was gripping a rather large portion of the world, and there were mass protests being carried out in other parts. Religious strife was forcing people to flee yet another area in the world while drunken debauchery and recklessness was gripping what seemed like famous, well-respected, and influential people. There was chaos in the world, but it seemed like it had started well before his wife had received her dreams containing the warning and the darkness that was spreading.

This was the world that Watanuki was growing up in, and he could not help but feel sad that the young man lived in such a place.

A few minutes later, the rapid clickity-clack noise stopped and he heard Takamura say, “The messages have been sent. I have asked them to gather here, for it was here, thirteen years ago, that the survivors watched the Final Day's battle take place at Tokyo Tower.”

Syaoran sketched a short bow before holding up a hand for Takamura to wait a moment as he said, “There is another purpose for my arrival here, Takamura-san. There is a young man that I have been sworn to protect and it was now that the Dimensional Witch has extracted the payment for receiving all the preparations in another war that my wife and I are involved in. I will try to help the Dragons as much as possible in defending this world, but my priority is to protect the Witch's assistant, Watanuki Kimihiro.”

“We can bring him under the protection of the school,” the headmaster generously offered. “Since it seems from your words, that the Dimensional Witch cannot interfere with what is coming, it means that her shop and home will not provide adequate protection in the long term until this coming crisis is resolved. The school grounds was home to one of the two Shinken used during the Final Day, kept for a few months after its birth until the Kamui of the Dragons of Heaven was ready to confront his opposite.”

Syaoran could not help but make a face at the suggestion, but clarified it by saying, “This young man has lived a harsh life so far, and according to my wife, will have many more years of hardship and loneliness. I would hate to take him away from what little friends he has and isolate him here. Your offer is generous, but will only be taken up if there is no other choice.”

Takamura nodded, saying, “Then I understand. Come, let me introduce you to Fuuma-san.”

He followed the headmaster out of the area and back down the halls, before they stopped at the same metal box (which he learned was called an 'elevator') and took that to the ground. When they stepped out, Takamura took a left and continued down a series of long halls. It got quieter and quieter, and with each classroom they passed, it seemed that there was not a soul in the area.

At long last, they emerged into a small courtyard that had an enormous tree covered in golden leaves that were interspersed with brilliant reds and orange colors. The grass that surrounded the tree and covered the entire square area was still green, but most of the area was covered in a thin layer of fallen leaves. Syaoran stopped where Takamura stopped, right at the entrance to the courtyard, carefully watching the man who was kneeling before the tree in prayer. The small twittering of birds with their short sing-song voices filled the air here and he could see some sparrows flitting about the branches.

A cool breeze brushed past, sending the branches rustling and a few more leaves falling – he couldn't help but close his eyes and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere. The serene feeling that caressed his mind made him feel almost at home, watching his wife complete the daily purification rites for the morning rituals. An unbidden smile made its way up his lips as he imagined that Sakura would have loved it here, even though elsewhere, especially outside of the campus, there was a sense of unease.

“Takamura-san,” the man said as Syaoran opened his eyes again to see that he had stood up from prayer and had turned to face them.

“I apologize for intruding on you, Fuuma-san.”

The smile that had been on Syaoran's face quickly died as he looked at the man who was the keeper of this world's delicate Kekkai. There were just so many differences between the Treasure Hunter Fuuma he knew and this particular man, and they were not limited to the physical. Though this Fuuma was older, there seemed to be an enormous air of melancholy – almost as saturated as the same feeling he had felt from Sumeragi – that hung around him. His eyes were still bright and sharp, but Syaoran thought he saw a flicker of darkness behind them, as if a sinister shadow was trying to hide from the light. Try as he might, he could not see it again, even after looking away for just a moment and back.

“There is no need. I was done with my prayers before you and your guest arrived,” Monou politely said.

“Speaking of which, this is Li Syaoran, a guest of this school who also has a message for you and the other remaining Dragons.”

It was quick, but not quick enough to escape his notice that when Takamura mentioned 'Dragons', Monou had narrowed his eyes slightly. The man's stance was still loose and relaxed, but Syaoran could feel a dormant well of power start to awaken. He could not tell whether or not that well of enormous power was going to be used for good or bad, since that flash of darkness that he thought he had seen might have been true.

“If you would pardon my intrusion, Monou-san,” he began as he took a few steps forward, hearing the headmaster return inside and left them alone. “I am from another world, but I bring news from my wife who is a dreamseer. She has seen visions about this world and what is coming.” He saw the man remain silent, though Monou did glance over at the tree for a moment before returning his attention to him. Continuing on, he said, “There is a chaotic force that is raising the dead and causing not only this world but others including my own to splinter. I was also informed by an acquaintance of yours that there is a prophecy here that alludes to the 'end of the world' as told by ancient astronomers in less than three months. It is the same amount of time that my wife has seen in her dreams that this unknown entity must be stopped, or else the indeterminate future may cease to exist.”

Monou was silent for a very long moment, long enough that Syaoran was not sure if he should say anymore, but then the man quietly said, “I was entrusted with a Wish and the Kekkai of the Earth by a precious person who was lost to me. For thirteen years, I have felt Humanity grow stronger and the Earth begin to heal from the revolution that was caused by us. If what you say is true, then is it possible that the vision your dreamseer has seen is false – after all, you did state that the future was indeterminate.”

“From a certain point of view, yes,” he answered before gesturing to the sky. “My wife was not the only dreamseer to see this vision. At least four others, three from your world, and another from yet a different world have seen it. There may be more, but from what I know, contact has not been made with other dreamseers. In this day and age, it was because of what happened in your world thirteen years ago, that enabled many worlds to be born and many lives to overlap. Dreamseers still exist, but when five of them see the same thing, I don't believe that any of us can call that coincidence...it's rather inevitability.”

“Do you know who were the three?” Monou cautiously asked.

Nodding he said, “They are all residing in your world's land of the dead, but that does not preclude any from still dreaming and existing. As such, they do dream, but they do not age, and it was only through Sumeragi Subaru that the message was passed on. My being here is because of that too. The three from your world who have seen the coming darkness are a man named Kakyou and two young women: Hokuto and Kotori.”

He saw Monou's face fall into despair and wondered which part of what he had just said had caused that. It was such a wounded look that it seemingly amplified the melancholic feeling emanating from the man. “I'm sorry,” he apologized. “I did not mean to cause you such grief.”

“No,” the man stated, shaking his head slightly as he again, took a look at the tree, though this time, he kept his eyes on it as he continued to say, “There are two people that I keep in my heart and thoughts. I can never forgive myself because of what I did to them thirteen years ago, but it is because of the promise that I keep that keeps the Kekkai surrounding the world alive. Kotori was my sister. She is buried here, under this tree.”

Syaoran remained silent as a cool breeze seemed to answer Monou's words, lifting a few leaves off of the ground and twirled them around in the sky. “Before I killed her, I knew that my sister had the potential to be a dreamseer,” the man softly said. “Most of her premonitions frightened her but she occasionally had some good ones. Though I cannot speak to her now, if she is dreaming of a coming darkness, I want to know what it is.” When Monou turned to face Syaoran again, there was no longer a sadness that lingered around him, but had been replaced by a determined look. “Tell me, Li-san, what exactly is coming?”

Sensing that it was safe for him to approach, he took the few steps forward to close the distance and gestured to one of the many benches that were scattered around this courtyard. “Please, let us sit, and please call me Syaoran. Takamura-san was kind enough to summon the other remaining Dragons, but I will tell you of what I know.”

* * *

It was supposed to be a simple, short, but important request from a politician whose family had ties to the Sumeragi clan since before the end of the Meiji revolution. It was also only out of obligation and duty to keep that old connection alive that Subaru took the job – after all, since the day the world was saved, there had been a rapid decline of people visiting temples, shrines, and various places of worship – especially in Japan. In this day and age, with information and data rapidly disseminated, religious cults were laughed and jeered out of existence by the world – only to be replaced by even stranger ones, police-states who cracked down on freedom were castigated by unexpected countries who rallied and demanded action, and those who thought faith was their way to salvation and freedom found that they didn't matter as much anymore. All in all, as people became more knowledgeable of the world around them, they also became more rapidly disillusioned with long-standing institutions.

Humanity was consuming itself, while having a grand old time during their descent into destruction. It was the words that Subaru remembered from long ago, sitting in a particular white van, that Seishirou had said with regards to the city of Tokyo in particular. Back then, most of the world was enjoying their rapid fall, but now, it seemed that even though most did not realize how close they had been to extinction during 1999, there was a reversal in human nature. Wars still raged between nations and people, but many started to try to save the earth, to save their home. What first was thought of as the new Information Age, also became Humanity's rally call to stop destroying their world and preserve it for future generations. Time would only tell if their efforts in the past few years would ever make a difference.

Not that Subaru really cared, for the future had already been ripped away from him and it was only because he kept the memories of his sister and the man he loved alive, that kept him going in life. Or had, before the events of yesterday.

_Focus_ , he told himself as he resumed his chanting. The job itself was simple enough: a block of public housing in the city that the politician's college-aged daughter was living in (to keep up appearances of serving the public, of course) had been recently afflicted with strange sounds and sightings of ghosts. Since the early morning, five exorcisms had already been performed, all containing minor spirits who were just lingering with barely any grudge and had no where to go or anyone to guide them to Enma.

While it was common for ghosts to linger, the sheer amount of spirits in this block had initially surprised him. Those five exorcisms that he had performed had been five separate cleansing spells, and now, he was on his sixth. No matter how much he purged the block each time, more minor spirits would appear, as if drawn to the area. A scanning spell, along with his familiar scouting out the peripheral area had shown no significant spiritual presence or cause, except for those at Asakusa Shrine, which was a few blocks away from where he was.

Frustration and annoyance at the pesky lingering presence of the ghosts ran through him. He also felt the acute impatience of his clients, who were strolling around the block at the moment, careful to not disturb the wards that had been set up. It had surprised him as to how little the wards he had set up did not prevent the spirits from repopulating the area. Even at full strength, spirits seemed to slip in and out. Nothing was going the right way today...and it was already mid-afternoon--

Subaru immediately stopped chanting and opened his eyes as he felt a tiny but perceptible shift in the spiritual atmosphere. Quickly disintegrating the sixth cleansing spell, he summoned his familiar with just a thought and heard the three cries of affirmation from its three heads before it flew off. Something was drawing away this particular batch of ghosts, and he knew that it had nothing to do with the spell he had been incanting. The void that the ghosts left behind was not filled, but the wards around the building seemed to hold this time, and there was no other presence of the lingering dead that seemed to want to enter the area.

His knees cracked as he stood and pins and needles crawled up and down his legs, but he ignored the sensation. With the ends of his beige-colored trench coat flapping slightly in the autumn breeze, he made his way down until at ground level, he spotted his clients. Ensuring that the wards were sealed as he exited them and back into the buzz of the city, he bowed towards them for a moment before straightening.

“It is finished for now,” he stated. “However, because the exorcism has taken this long, I would like to leave the wards up for at least a day. Your tenants may remain in the building, but please do not let them touch or adjust any of the ofuda that have been set up.”

“Thank you, Sumeragi-dono!” the clients said at nearly the same time before farewell bows were given.

As Subaru departed, he was careful to keep his pace steady, for he did not want to cause the clients any panic. However, as soon as he was sure he was out of sight, he broke into a run, projecting a part of his mind's eye towards his familiar and found himself perched on top of a familiar-looking torii, looking in – namely the stone torii at Asakusa Shrine. Returning to himself, he continued to run, feeling a faint stream of the same ghostly presence guiding him towards his destination.

The entrance and surrounding areas near Asakusa were crowded as usual, filled mostly with tourists and school children of all ages on an early autumn field trip. Fortunately, no one paid attention to Subaru, who crossed the streets and finally stopped at the foot of the stone torii. Sensou-ji and its entrance were near the shrine, but the pool of spirits he felt lingering in the air was quite thick and definitely spread between both the Shinto shrine and Buddhist temple – ghosts never did disseminate between religious lines.

He barely felt the sharp talons from his familiar dig into his shoulder as he took a step in, for the weight of just how coldly suffocating it felt to be under this much spiritual pressure nearly overwhelmed him. Shines, temples, mosques, churches – any type of religious structure was designed to keep spirits, good will, ill will, prayers, and wishes in. This presence he felt, felt like mud that had broken through an earthen dam but had not yet completely washed outside of the shrine's perimeter.

People streaming around him felt no such pressure, and though their chatter and laughs were quite muffled to his ears, Subaru could see no priests in the vicinity. Taking another few steps in, he sent his familiar into the air, but even as he projected himself into it, there was no difference in the ill miasma that seemed to grip the place. As he returned to himself and allowed his familiar to continue to float above, trying to figure out what was causing this anomaly, he became aware that though he was breathing, it didn't feel like he was actually  _breathing_ .

As soon as his thoughts connected the pieces, there was an awful cracking sound as something behind and above him shattered. He only had a moment to glance around as the ground beneath, along with the buildings, and the vermilion red shrine before him imploded.

* * *

“Earthquake.”

Before Watanuki could huff at the interruption in the rather lovely conversation that he and Himawari were having, he saw Doumeki stroll past and stop, seemingly staring up at the sky. Moments later, the temblor did strike, but it was not the usual rolling motion, but rather a very violent and sudden shaking of the ground that sent not only him, but others around the three to their knees. As suddenly as it came, it stopped, and as he shook his head and slowly got up, he heard a few exclamations of surprise float down the street.

“The buildings,” Himawari whispered in awe as the three of them looked around and noticed that though quite violent, not a single building in the area had been touched. Even clotheslines that had blankets and shirts hung out for drying and airing purposes had not fallen. Cracks did not appear in the foundations of the buildings around them – even the road itself was not fractured, and the only sign that something strange had happened was a few birds taking flight.

However, even with Doumeki negating the spirits and ill will feeling that constantly surrounded him, Watanuki could not help but feel a chill that saturated the air as a breeze blew down the street. That chilly feeling felt sinister and seemed to stick to him. Absently rubbing his arms, he tried to get rid of it, but it only seemed to sink further into his skin.

“The wards...” he heard Himawari softly say and glanced over at her, only to see that her eyes were no longer the expressive and beautiful dark color that they were, but had taken on a glazed, eerily pale blue color.

“Himawari-chan!” he exclaimed, just as she suddenly fell silent and collapsed. Catching her in his arms before she could hit the ground, he nearly dropped her as her ice-cold hands brushed against his arms. No living creature was ever supposed to feel this cold, and the last time he knew that someone felt this cold was a dead body.

* * *

It started out as a faint rumbling sound, though it accelerated faster than anticipated and immediately started to shake the grounds. Having lived through earthquakes before, Syaoran knew what was coming just before the tremor struck. Seconds of violent shaking accompanied it, but what came afterwards concerned him greatly.

Looking around, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and the skies were not full of dust or collapsing structures. In fact, the sparrows that had been twittering around the branches of the tree that he and Monou had been sitting under were the only ones to take flight and fly away. However, moments after the birds took flight, he heard Monou grunt rather painfully and turned just in time to catch the man and ease him to a sitting position on the grass.

Monou was curled in on himself, and his face was twisted in pain. Though his eyes were shut and there was no external signs, Syaoran could feel the well of power growing exponentially within Monou. Before he could get a word out, he heard rapid footsteps echoing in the halls and skitter to a stop at the entrance to the courtyard. Looking up, he saw Takamura, wild-eyed with a sense of panic swirling around him. There was a pink-haired woman next to Takamura, and though she physically looked calmer than Takamura, he could also sense panic running through her.

“Asakusa Shrine and Sensou-ji have collapsed! They're not the only ones to. Several other shrines, temples, and places of worship in the country and around the world have also collapsed.”

“What?”

“Places of worship usually contain the spirits residing in them, correct?” a voice said from behind Syaoran as he heard footsteps land on the grass as a sharp slap of wind accompanied the landing. Turning around, he found himself staring up at a kind, middle-aged face that was lined with some wrinkles. Glasses were perched on the man's face, but they did not soften the concerned and serious look on his face.

“Aoki Seiichirou,” the man introduced himself.

“Li Syaoran,” he replied, recognizing the face as belonging to one of the Dragons who survived.

“And you must be CLAMP School's administrator, Takamura-san,” Aoki stated, glancing over at Takamura and the woman who accompanied him.

“I am--” Takamura began, but Syaoran did not hear the rest of the headmaster's words as he felt his heart suddenly constrict. It became very hard for him to breathe, let alone shake himself free of the vice-like grip. There was a sense of sheer terror that welled up in him, and he quickly realized that it was not him who was feeling it, but rather the person he was supposed to protect. Watanuki was in trouble.

* * *

In the nameless world where one gave it only because they needed the definition to hold reality, Kotori needed no such names to maintain the dreamscape that she often found herself surrounded by. It had been her favorite place when she had been alive, and now that she had some training by Kakyou, she had filled the dreamscape with everything that she could remember of this place. Books upon books, and the endless halls of shelves decorated the library dreamscape. Of course, her favorite ones were of the indigo dyeing process and they filled at least two rows, if not more in this particular library.

It was also here that Kamui often visited and stayed here, whenever he was not exploring the nameless afterlife or learning more about his heritage from his mother. Now though, he was not present, but she knew where he was – discussing with Kakyou, the recent events that sent two people from the land of the living. Though she had seen the dreams herself, she had not seen to the extent that the other four had seen.

Sighing, she plucked a book out of the library and opened it up to a page. Words from the page softly spoke to her but she was not paying attention to them. She wanted to help, but she had seen Kamui's worried looks each time she had mentioned the dreams, and thus had not pressed the issue too much. In addition to that, she had also refrained from telling him that what she had seen were more like nightmares than anything else. While not as surreal and visceral as what she had seen thirteen years ago, it still greatly unsettled her. The five of them had seen the same thing, but in talking to Hokuto, she had discovered that there were certain aspects of their shared dreams that were slightly different for each person.

Closing the book, she sighed again and turned the corner to walk up yet another row of bookshelves, only to squeak in surprise. Her hands and the book flew to her mouth as she took a step back, not in fright, but in shock. Lying on the dreamscape's blue carpeted floor in an unconscious and haphazard manner was Sumeragi Subaru.

 

~*~*~*~

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's actually quite a challenge to switch between shoujo-fanfic writing (this fic) and shounen-fanfic writing (my current PMK/RK fic), but I totally enjoy that challenge. Anywho, what Subaru feels in a spiritual sense upon stepping past the torii at Asakusa Shrine is based upon my own feelings from long ago when I first stepped into the grounds of Yasukuni Shrine – except that I amplified it quite a bit. As for the linguistic shout-out to Syaoran, especially to his CCS counterpart, I wanted to address that since this particular Syaoran does not carry a Mokona. Also, CLAMP School has the latest tech in computers and such – it's just this Syaoran translated it to simple rectangular boxes and stuff...culture shock and all.  
> Character Nods:  
>  \- Takamura Kouji – from CLAMP School Paranormal Investigators, and is the younger cousin of Takamura Suoh.  
>  \- Li Syaoran – different Syaoran from the many incarnations, but still the same core...and an adult to boot!


	3. Part 2: Strange Attractors (A)

**Part 2: Strange Attractors (A)**

 

Screaming was always good, except that no matter how much or how long he screamed, the nightmarish ghosts, looking more and more like oni than simple ghosts, kept on approaching. Even Doumeki, who could not see them or usually feel them, was feeling the ill effects of their strange presences. Faces blurred past them as Watanuki kept himself close to Doumeki and Himawari, whom Doumeki was carrying in his arms. Despite his usual reservations and annoyance at the presence of Doumeki, a small part of him was extremely grateful that the tall teenager had showed up when he did.

Still, that did not stop him from yelling at the top of his lungs as they continued to run, with a ghoulish-looking spirit suddenly appearing out of an alleyway and leaping over their heads. It didn't touch them, for it seemed that Doumeki's ability to negate spirits was still working after a fashion, but it passed much closer to them than Watanuki would have liked. In fact, it seemed that the closer they approached Yuuko's shop, the closer the spirits that now drowned the streets of Tokyo, got.

Whatever that earthquake had been, Watanuki knew that it was unnatural. Passive ghosts and even simple lingering grudges from various spirits that could not find their way home to the dead world had suddenly exploded into monstrous forms. Misshapen limbs, heads, and bodies grew upon the spirits as they seemingly merged with others risen from the ground. Their chilling chorus of wails that pierced hearts and caused many of the living to collapse to their knees in silent agony only added to the growing horror.

“She's getting colder,” he heard Doumeki curtly say.

“Almost there,” he absently commented before another shout of surprise escaped his lips, just as a blob of what looked like merged spirits tumbled past them and down the street. The blob rolled over cars and pedestrians, and people that were in the path of the blob were left walking around in a drunken manner. None of them knew what had hit them, and only that something strange had been afflicted on them.

Turning yet another corner, he raced forward, seeing the familiar plain fence and the space between buildings that marked the area as Yuuko's shop. Safety from whatever this was that had saturated Tokyo, from the nightmare that gripped her people, from the plague of spirits, and help from Yuuko that he could give to Himawari--

He felt himself tumbling back into the ground, landing quite painfully on his side as Doumeki finally caught up and stopped, looking at the shop entrance before swinging his gaze over to him. “Ow...” he muttered as he got up and rubbed his lower back. Looking at the entrance again, there seemed to be nothing that would prevent him from entering so why...? Deciding to approach the open gates again, just as he was about to cross the threshold, he was again, sent back to land on his rear.

“There's a message.”

Watanuki blinked as he stared up at the fence, open entrance, and the shop beyond before looking over to where Doumeki was, nudging a folded piece of paper that was lying next to the entrance with his foot. With the tall teenager carrying the still glazed-eyed and unconscious Himawari, Watanuki suppressed a grumble in his mind, but quickly scrambled to his feet as he heard a rather obnoxious sound of a train horn approaching. He managed to make it to where Doumeki was standing, just as a long line of merged spirits sped through the area. It was quickly followed by even stranger youkai forms that looked like a cross between crocodiles and antelopes.

As the stampede faded, he picked up the piece of paper and opened it. The scrawl that decorated the simple piece of paper was definitely in Yuuko's handwriting, but it was only a list. No explanation as to why he couldn't get into the shop, no message about the strangeness of everything around him, not even instructions – just a simple list for him to fetch items that he had never heard of. Irritated, he made a noise of frustration and attempted to crumple up the piece of paper.

However, just as he was about to ball it up, a frighteningly oppressive and sickening presence made itself known, just as the other cavorting spirits around them stilled. The growl was soft, but raised the hairs on the back of his neck as he looked up and over towards the nearest alleyway. Even Doumeki had narrowed his eyes slightly and looked warily around, though he still could not see a thing with regards to spirits.

Slinking out of the shadows as if it were a wolf carefully stalking its prey was a tall and ominous-looking shadow. In the sunlight, it looked wispy, but swirling around the thin, almost skeletal form was tendrils of black smoke. Adding to the ethereal and frightening form, it seemed to be wearing a set of silver-colored ceremonial robes that looked to be cut into ribbons by a wild animal – something that a Shinto priest would be wearing if it were not damaged. But it was not any of those that nearly made Watanuki's heart stop – it was the fact that the ghost had only pin-point ruby-red dots for eyes, and the smile that it carried on its vague face was unnaturally wider than expected.

It took another step closer to them, and Watanuki immediately turned and started to pound on the the invisible barrier. “Yuuko-san!” Somewhere in the depths of his mind, he knew that even with Doumeki's ability to negate spirits from touching him or anyone around the area, it was not going to work. “Yuuko-san, let us in!” What had been open to him, a Wish that he want granted was now unexpectedly closed, and at the most dire time of need, he couldn't fathom why.

“Where is it?” Doumeki's voice cut into his desperate thoughts and fear that had gripped him as he glanced over to see that Himawari had been placed on the ground and leaned against the fence. Doumeki was now standing in a defensive stance with his hands curled into fists and held up, looking which ever way and that. Just as Watanuki peeked out from behind the teen's broad shoulders, he blanched.

Standing not even a half meter away in front of Doumeki, with a mouth full of teeth and stretched into a deathly smile, was the terrifying ghost – no – it was no longer wispy and translucent...it rapidly becoming solid. “Uh...” Watanuki began, but found himself at a loss of words as his whole body shook. He wanted to shout, to scream, to just run away, but found himself rooted to the spot, staring at the apparition.

It seemed to blink once, and he found himself mirroring its movement, but in that space of a blink, the apparition disappeared. Not a heartbeat later, he felt an enormous icy-cold feeling blanket him, sending painful pricks lancing up his arms. He only got to turn his head slightly, seeing the beginnings of the solid oni who had teleported behind him, before his vision was filled with a blur of colors. He found himself stumbling backwards as a hand was planted on his chest and forcefully shoved him away. Strong, warm arms caught and arrested his fall, but the mix of fear and shock coursing through his body was too much for him to bear as he felt himself slipping into darkness...

* * *

 _Solid_ , Syaoran thought, just as his foot smashed into the side of the wraith's face. As it fell, releasing its grip on Watanuki, he followed through with the flying kick and extended a hand out to he shoved the catatonic-looking teenager away from the creature. Landing on the ground, he tumbled and rolled up, spinning around to snap yet another kick right at the apparition's neck – its head snapped off. The fact that this particular ghost was quite solid enough for even him to hit with quite a large amount of force worried him, but what was more concerning was that a _significant_ amount of spirits had been released with that unnatural earthquake. Most were things that he could not see, but some, like this one who was now a dead creature squarely among the living, was something he could touch.

Following up on that roundhouse kick, he dove in and punched the apparition where the skeletal stomach was, before hooking his right arm up and into the exposed ribs and threw the solid ghost over his head and into the ground. It silently smashed into pieces, though a whisper of his wife's powers within the seal and the sword that was contained in him supplied the noise needed.

With the bones scattered, it slowly became transparent again as Syaoran thought he saw tendrils of what made up the wraith slither away. Getting up from his crouched landing position, he watched the apparition fade away until there was only blacktop left. Chills ran up and down his right arm and both of his legs where he had hit the wraith, but he knew that it would subside soon. Similar incidents had happened before in his world, whenever one of Sakura's spells could not contain angry and vengeful spirits. It had been up to him and other guards watching over the rituals to contain the spirits so that they could not get out to affect the masses.

Muted sounds of birds, people talking, and hurrying about, along with the vehicles that buzzed through the roads here slowly resumed as the oppressive blanket of spiritual saturation also slowly faded. As much as he knew that completely purging the wraith from existence in the living world guarantee it never forming again, he did not have the power to do so. That kind of power in this world was reserved for the spiritualists such as Sumeragi. His primary concern now was to ensure that Watanuki was safe.

Turning around, he hurried over to where Watanuki and his friends were, though he put up his hands in a placating manner as he saw the young man who had caught Watanuki and was now holding him quite protectively, give him a critical look. There was a strange presence emanating from the young man, and it took him a moment to realize that he was negating Watanuki's ghostly attractive presence with his own. However, it didn't feel like a complete negation or was terribly effective. “I'm a friend,” he said as he stopped at the edge of the sidewalk. “My name is Li Syaoran and I was sent here via a favor owed to the Dimensional Witch.”

“The Witch's shop is locked,” the young man stated, still not taking his eyes off of him.

Puzzled by the statement, he approached the entrance and just before he was able to take the last step that would put him evenly at the fence, he felt a strange surge of power sweep in front of him Cautiously, he placed a hand out, and found himself encountering a wall where there was visually none. Flicking two fingers at the 'wall', a pinging sound echoed through his mind as he heard the resonance magik and realized what had happened. The sudden implosion of many places of worship in the world had caused Yuuko to close off the shop – it made complete sense to him, for not only was the Witch a powerful force to be reckoned with in this world, but would serve as an attractor to all the spirits who had unfinished business or had been sent against their will into the land of the dead. She would have been overwhelmed with the numerous amounts of Wishes to be fulfilled and could not extract a price from the dead when most of the dead had nothing to give.

“She can't fulfill the wishes of the dead,” he said as he turned back towards the young man. “Watanuki needs safe haven. I can take him there.”

The young man waited a moment more, as if studying him to ensure that he was indeed, speaking the truth before nodding and balanced Watanuki in his arms as he stood up. “She also needs help,” the young man said, gesturing towards the young woman who was leaning against the fence with a vacant stare.

Syaoran walked over to where the young woman was, crouched down and gently picked her up. She was quite cold, colder than he expected, but not cold enough to be classified by him as a soulless body. He didn't have enough power, sense or training to determine what was wrong with her, but the fact that she was not blinking and had a glazed look in her eyes told him that she too had been affected by the breaking of the many spiritual wards.

Standing back up, he turned his head slightly and said, “Follow me. Keep close and keep him safe. We're going to the CLAMP School campus, but from here to there is a sea of spirits – most of them quite unpredictable and invisible to our eyes.”

* * *

Sirens from ambulances and shouts of officers and medical personnel filled the air as he and Aoki Seiichirou gently landed on the nearest rooftop that had not been among the imploded structures at the site. The dormant powers within him awoke after thirteen years of slumber, initially causing him a great amount of pain, but the dark entity that had possessed him had not taken him over. In fact, Fuuma was not sure if the dark entity existed anymore, for after accepting Kamui's Wish, he had returned to himself, but with full knowledge of what exactly he had done during the entire year.

Since that day, he had been trying to atone for all the grief, destruction, and sadness that he had caused – trying to live his life as he knew his sister and Kamui would have wanted him to. He had not had any contact with the remaining Dragons until today, and even though so far, only the windmaster showed up. He was also not sure how to proceed in terms of planning a defense for the Earth, especially since he was sure that Aoki still had clear memories of what hell he had gone through thirteen years ago.

He was very aware of each movement that the windmaster made, especially since Aoki had been the one to suggest going to the nearest destroyed site, Asakusa and Sensouji, to collect more information. A part of him was on guard, but another part embraced the fact that if the windmaster wanted to kill him, he had every right – after all, as Dark Kamui, Fuuma had killed the man's beloved nephew. Kishuu Arashi also had that right, since he had been the one to manipulate and orchestrate that entire conflict between her and her beloved, Arisugawa Sorata. He was also quite sure that the other three survivors, Shiyuu Kusanagi, Sumeragi Subaru, and Nekoi Yuzuriha would also be justified in their excuses.

 _Do not blame yourself for the madness that consumed your entire being_.

Fuuma blinked a few times as the recently spoken words of the mysterious man, Li Syaoran, echoed in his mind. How the man knew what he and others in this world had gone through had not been said, but something inside of him had told him that he could trust the man. While a more saner person might have dismissed the fantastical story that Syaoran (the man had insisted being addressed by his given name) had told him in the courtyard only less than an hour ago, he did not. In fact, he took the dreamseers' visions seriously – he might have killed his sister, but if this was her way of forgiving him for what he did to her, then he would accept it. That and also he knew that Kuzuki Kakyou would never lie about a dream, even if he were dead and still dreaming in the afterlife – even as Dark Kamui, he had sensed that the man was definitely not capable of lying or concealing the truth.

He didn't know where Syaoran currently was, only that he had left in a hasty manner almost as soon as Aoki had arrived. The only explanation that they had received was from Takamura, who had stated that Syaoran had someone precious to protect. Fuuma wished that Syaoran was here – he could definitely use a more experienced or at least more knowledgeable person here.

Looking around, all he could see was dust and debris, along with many injured people sprawled out on the giant crater that had formed with the sinking and collapse of the shrine and temple. A very thick feeling of unease coursed through him as he stared at the various personnel trying to extract people from the crater. Far below, he could dimly hear reporters live on the scene describing the situation as a possible gas leak explosion, but from their tone – no one knew what had caused this...no one except for him, Aoki, and those at CLAMP School's campus.

“Let me see if I can clear the air so that it will be easier for the rescue personnel to work,” he heard the windmaster murmur from beside him. A moment later, there was a rather strong gust of wind that swirled around, collecting floating debris and suffocating the fires until they were extinguished. Firemen, police officers, and other down below were shouting exclamations of surprise, but the cleaning vortex did not linger much longer and soon was tossed towards the Sumida River.

With it being clearer now, rescue workers worked harder and faster, and with the debris and smoke gone, Fuuma spotted a familiar face among those still trapped by debris. The onmyouji, Sumeragi, was half-buried under a mound of what looked to be white stone dust, and he was not moving. Though he had always wondered why the onmyouji had erected a temporary barrier during the Final Battle, and attempted to save Kamui's life from Dark Kamui, it was only after he had absorbed Kamui's Wish that he understood why. Kamui and the onmyouji had been connected to each other that spanned deeper than just their roles as Dragons in the war – Kamui had considered Sumeragi to be a close friend, though Fuuma had felt that there had been more to the two than just that.

He quickly jumped down from where he was, ignoring Aoki's shout of caution, and hurried to where the onmyouji was. For the sake of his memory of Kamui, he would ensure that Sumeragi did not die. There were so many blood splatters, torn limbs, smashed heads, and other unidentifiable body parts surrounding Sumeragi, along with rather large chunks of the path and earthen mounds. It was a miracle that the onmyouji had survived while others around him had perished. It was also precisely why rescue personnel had not even touched this area yet – it was full of dead children and adults.

He couldn't see Sumeragi's chest move up and down, but he could still feel his presence, though it felt strange and unlike a living being. The onmyouji was not dead, but neither was he alive. Thirteen years had not done much to physically age the onmyouji, and he was still as handsome as the the first time Fuuma (as Dark Kamui) had encountered him. However, there seemed to be a wider, deeper, and vast amount of power that was not previously there when they had fought all those years ago.

While he had unconsciously dipped into his own well of power within him to get to Asakusa via rooftop jumping, to him, his own well felt the same as it did thirteen years ago. There was also the fact that it had been sealed after he had inherited the Wish. Now though, with it reawakened, he needed a more direct and conscious access. He could feel the power behind his mind, his to command with a thought. But there was the matter of his caution and fear; he was afraid that if he actively used it, the dark entity would rear its head again.

Shaking his head slightly, he knew that he had to put aside his own fears and defend the Earth from the chaos. He would continue to keep Kamui's Wish alive no matter how afraid he was. Closing his eyes for a brief moment, he imagined a calm lake in his mind and let it spread across his thoughts; letting it drift through him until it was honed down a river to a stream and finally a sharp trickle. He unleashed the telekinetic burst to clear the stone debris without jarring Sumeragi. Crouching down and gingerly picked up the injured onmyouji. Just as he started to get up, he heard Aoki shout a warning and looked up just in time to see a rather horrific _thing_ approach.

It looked humanoid, though it was initially translucent and was approaching solidity with each step it took towards him. Long black hair covered more than half of its body, which was wrapped in a white yukata, but it was the apparition's face that caused his heart to skip a beat. It was a bleach-white skull in the shape of some bovine with twin small blue-flames for eyes, and horns that curled up and out of the hair. Something black and waxy-like dripped out of its mouth and left a slimy, hissing and smoking trail on its yukata.

Instinct took over his senses as he telekinetically blasted the thing once – twice – three times, but none of it seemed to affect the spirit. Debris, bloody limbs, and half-buried bodies on either side of the approaching apparition were violently flung away by the blasts. Taking a step back, he felt himself sink a little deeper into the debris and down a little further into the crater. Rescue personnel and officers were no where near him, and he tried to mentally fling several telekinetic blasts at the creature again, causing more dust to fill the air.

It softly growled, raising the hair on the back of his neck as he clutched the body of Sumeragi tighter towards him. Abandoning the attempted attack, he jumped, letting the wellspring of his powers propel him and the body he was carrying quite high up into the air. Unfortunately, the creature followed suit, but before it could reach up with a bony hand and attack, it was suddenly buffeted to the side by a powerfully sharp and cold gust of wind.

“Go!”

He saw Aoki land on another rooftop and saw the faint swirls of wind wrapping themselves around the man's hands. Taking the escape for its worth, he gave a nod of thanks before boosting himself higher. Landing on a rooftop about ten blocks away from Asakusa with the unconscious Sumeragi still in his arms, he continued to jump from rooftop to rooftop, headed towards the CLAMP School's campus. Though the actual wards that had guarded the place during 1999 were long gone, there were still residual powers left over from so many years of preparation and spellcasting by various types of people who inhabited the campus. It was the safest place right now.

Aoki joined him at about the halfway point to the campus, merely giving him a glance before looking back ahead. However, it did not escape Fuuma's notice that the man's dark blue business jacket had been shredded in some places and that it looked like there was some grey soot coating parts of his khaki pant, white collared shirt, and hands. Keeping silent, he continued towards the campus, knowing that getting there was higher priority than asking what had happened to the windmaster.

They made it to the campus without anymore incidents, and just as they landed in a courtyard, he heard the hurried pitter-patter of running footsteps from the walkways surrounding the courtyard and from the outside. He saw Takamura emerge, and flanking him were the pink-haired woman, Ibuki Rion, and a few others staff members that he recognized. As for those who came in from the outside, he saw Syaoran hurry in with a young woman in his arms, and a tall teenager following him. The no-nonsense look about the young man surprised him, but it was quickly dashed as he saw the young man also carrying pale-looking teen in his arms.

The school's medical personnel streamed into the courtyard and though he was jostled a bit, he relented and allowed them to take and place Sumeragi onto a stretcher. As they wheeled the onmyouji away, the two unconscious teens were also placed on stretchers and sent off. The tall teenager who had been carrying the other boy merely glanced at Syaoran before following what Fuuma could only assume as his unconscious friends.

Takamura cleared out everyone else except for himself, Syaoran, and Aoki, and when it was finally quiet again, it was only then that Fuuma found himself relaxing slightly. They were safe from the horrific spectre that had tried to attack him and safe from the ill miasma coating the streets.

“Li Syaoran,” Syaoran said, putting a hand out for Aoki to shake. “We weren't properly introduced before I had to leave. I apologize for that, but I was charged with protecting that unconscious young man, though I believe he is fine and just fainted.”

He saw Aoki take the offered hand and give it a brief but firm shake as the windmaster said, “Good to meet you. I'm Aoki Seiichirou, a Dragon of Heaven and windmaster. Is it safe for me to assume that you and Monou-san here know what's going on and why a shrine and temple in the middle of Tokyo along with other places of worship all over the world have collapsed?”

Fuuma caught Syaoran's glance at him, but it was unreadable. Of course he had been told by the man about what the dreams his sister and other dreamseers had seen, but he found himself hoping that there was more to Syaoran's answer than initially heard. “Perhaps,” Syaoran said, gesturing for them to go indoors, “but it may not be as much as you hope, Aoki-san.”

As the two left, with Syaoran explaining as much as he could, Fuuma took one last glance around the courtyard, before something caught his eye. At the entrance to the courtyard, he blinked as he saw a dark transparent shape hovering outside, but not cross into the campus grounds. The shape started to take form and soon, it became humanoid. Fuuma felt his innate powers amplify and course through him with the potential threat forming, but it was quickly quashed as soon as the shape started to solidify.

For a brief moment, it was like staring into a mirror as he saw himself standing outside of the campus – except that it possessed a twisted version of his face. Malevolent red eyes and a chillingly confident smirk that sent chills up his spine stared back at him. As fast as the apparition appeared, it suddenly disappeared, and all that was left was the sunshine, gentle autumn wind, muted sounds of nature, and sights of traffic outside of the campus. Shaking his head slightly, he looked away and looked back again – there was nothing there except for the wide open world, waiting to be consumed by the darkness.

* * *

“Argh!” Hokuto shouted in frustration, kicking a piece of a rock in the dreamscape. It bounced and skipped across the seascape, only to plop into the water, but it did catch the attention of the other two who were also in the seascape. “It doesn't make any sense,” she said, gesticulating out towards the grey expanse that was not a part of the seascape. “Why this, why now? I mean, time is irrelevant down here, so why would whoever is doing this send spirits up to cause chaos, especially when the end of the Mayan calendar is a myth? Why also attack many worlds?”

“Myth it may be to the eastern world, but not to the west. Fear and excitement much like what eastern countries experienced in 1999 is engulfing the west, as are many superstitions. However, I have not been able to contact Sakura or Tomoyo-hime since the first wave of spirits successfully broke through, Hokuto,” Kakyou answered in a calm tone. “Perhaps it is best that we take thanks in the fact that we managed to get the warning out. They may have already prepared defensive measures.”

Hokuto nodded, taking a small comfort in his words but she was still worried. The look in her brother's eyes in his brief time in Enma had all but told her that he was only living for memories of happier times, and that seeing her here had all but erased that will to live. While she was sure that he would pass the message on to the others, she wasn't sure that he wanted to stay alive. As much as she wanted to see him again, she knew that he had so much to live for, so much that he could do for the people of Japan. She didn't want him here in a premature manner. She had wanted him to live his life to the fullest – had wanted both Subaru and Seishirou to. But now a part of that dream had ended, and it hurt her to see her brother like so.

That pain and worry was briefly placed to the side as Kotori suddenly burst into the seascape with an alarmed look on her face. “Kotori!” she heard Kamui shout as he rushed to her side. “What's wrong?”

“Sumeragi-san!” Kotori began, eyes looking straight at Hokuto, “He's here!”

“Subaru?” she whispered, horrified as the possibilities flashed across her eyes. Had her brother been among the first victims of the unleashed spirits from the underworld? It was absurd to think, considering that she knew how powerful her brother was, even at such a young age – he would have only grown in power as he aged. At thirty-eight years of age, Hokuto knew that it would take a lot more than a rampaging horde of spirits to kill Subaru.

However, there was a small corner of her mind that doubted her thoughts, and it started to fester, mostly due in part to the fact that Sorata, Daisuke, and Karen had said that they thought they had felt a strangely familiar presence behind the ghosts who had broke through. Even the normally apathetic Satsuki had joined the three in their current search across the fields of Enma to find the source. As for Yuuto and Nataku, she did not know where the two currently were.

“How?” Kamui asked, breaking into Hokuto's thoughts as she hurried over to the two, barely noticing that Kakyou was following after her.

“I don't know,” the young woman said, shaking her head. “I was walking up the row where my collection of historical novels was located, reading a chapter from _Journey to the West_. I turned the corner and I saw Sumeragi-san lying there and not moving, and that's when I ran to find you. I didn't hear or feel him enter my dreamscape.”

“Please take us there, Kotori-chan,” Kakyou said, placing a hand on her shoulder to calm her down some more. “The fact that you did not hear him land or enter in your own dreamscape means that he may not be dead.”

“But how?” Hokuto wondered out loud as the seascape vanished and Kotori, with Kamui by her side, started to guide them to her own dreamscape. “Surely not by the way of those spirits who broke through?”

“It could very well be,” she heard Kakyou murmur. “We don't know what is happening in the living, but we know what exactly what kind of chaos spirits can cause.”

Hokuto felt her jaw tightened slightly as she remembered exactly what her love was talking about. There was no hierarchy within the land of the dead, but there was also no order either. Spirits were conscious of their doings and without any inhibitions or consequences of their actions since there was no where else to go, they ran rampant. There were no labels for them either – everything that she had learned from her grandmother about various spirits – yuurei, or generally youkai since it had been a better general term for them, no longer applied.

Those who had at least a modicum of respect for themselves and wanted to be left in peace banded together for safety. Such enclaves were scattered all over Enma, but she knew that spirits avoided the areas where she and her friends frequented for they had retained their powers. Safe haven was given to those who didn't want to be caught up in the chaos, but that haven was not always guaranteed, for eventually, even those wanting peace or had been quite saintly in their living life succumbed to their inner demons. It was just a matter of time.

They soon passed through a clouded barrier and entered Kotori's dreamscape library. It was still as beautiful as Hokuto remembered first seeing it, though there were a few more additions to it that she didn't remember seeing. She followed Kotori deeper into the library, knowing that she could come back later and have a look around. Winding around shelves and rows that extended as far as the eye could see, the four of them finally stopped at a row that contained books about sakura tree cultivation.

“He was here,” Kotori said, looking up the row before taking a few steps to the left and right to check those rows too.

“If you didn't feel him enter your dreamscape, then its possible that you didn't feel him leave either,” Hokuto said, giving the young woman a gentle pat on the back. Smiling, for she did not want to worry the innocent girl with her own troubling thoughts, she continued to say, “Don't worry. Let me see if I can spot him.”

Closing her eyes and folding her hands together, she concentrated and focused the small amount of spiritual power she had within her for the particular task that she needed. Though her grandmother had deigned to teach her much in terms of onmyou spells, when she had died and regained consciousness in the spirit world, she had found her father also within. Though she barely remembered his face, it was the power flowing through him that she recognized as a part of the Sumeragi clan's presence. He had taught her a few more simple spells to add to her repertoire, mainly to defend herself from the chaos within the world. He had also taught her to summon a familiar. Though now he was elsewhere in Enma, she was not worried for him, and was instead, extremely grateful that he had given her a chance to learn.

First came a small but shrill chirp, then came the tiny feet that was swiftly followed by the fuzz of the body and a head. Opening her eyes, she brought her right arm up and found herself staring face to face with a elegant white bird that was a cross between a cockatiel and sparrow chirping at her. It tilted its head slightly before taking a hop and flew off, out to fulfill its request from its master.

She had never mastered the second part of familiar control, but she knew enough to feel what it was feeling, and where her familiar was going worried her greatly. “I think you better stay here, Kotori-chan. My familiar is currently in area where spirits are running rampant and there seems to also be an ill miasma drawing more in.”

“I will stay with her,” Kakyou spoke up. “Be safe, you two.”

“We will,” she answered, before standing up on her tiptoes to give a kiss on Kakyou's cheek. Done with her farewell, she glanced over to where Kamui was gently cradling Kotori's face with a hand before stepping away, she gave him a nod and together, the two of them raced out of the dreamscape.

* * *

The monotonous beeps of life support equipment and monitors filled the sullen atmosphere in the room. However much Syaoran wanted to step in and tell Watanuki who was sitting beside the bed of Himawari to not worry, he didn't. Instead he placed a comforting hand on the young man's shoulder for a brief moment before removing it and stepped away. Quietly leaving the room, he closed the door and leaned against it for a moment, allowing himself to collect his thoughts.

It had been over a week since the implosion of two major places of worship in Tokyo, and several others around the country. In the world though, there was panic as many pointed fingers at long time enemies of their religious factions, while others tried to find a rational explanation behind such a phenomena. Small conflicts and skirmishes between border countries (that were vehemently denied by their countries' leaders) and even ethnic tribal conflict within countries were slowly increasing. Adding to that was the fact that an thin evil and sinister miasma coated the world – all due to the spirits that had been released. It fed into the fears, paranoia, and anger of people who were normally rational, and exacerbated those already on edge.

Watanuki had woken up the morning after they had arrived, with nothing worse for wear, but since he could not get into the Witch's shop he had stayed in the campus. Takamura had tried to encourage the teen to attend a few classes at the campus, even offering to completely transfer credits and transcripts of the three to CLAMP School, but Watanuki had refused and stubbornly remained at Himawari's side for most of the time. Doumeki, the other teen who had carried Watanuki to the campus, had returned to his family's shrine, though said little else. Occasionally, though, Doumeki did visit and bring what looked like schoolwork to Watanuki, to which the boy diligently completed before handing it back to Doumeki. It seemed that the two boys, who looked like they didn't get along too well but respected each other enough to work together, were trying to still live as normal of a life as they could, given the circumstances. Syaoran didn't blame them and had insisted that Takamura not interfere too much in Watanuki's life. It was already enough that he had to bring Watanuki here.

Then came the news that two of the Dragons, Shiyuu Kusanagi and his wife, Yuzuriha, had been prevented from coming to Tokyo – not by any force of nature, but by the fact that the country of Japan went on what Takamura had said was 'high alert' only two days ago and stepped up activities of their military. Countries west and north of the island nation were also on 'high alert', and Syaoran knew that it was only a matter of time before someone would trigger the start of a world-encompassing war.

Spiritualists of all religions were already hard at work, trying to placate the masses with prayers, offerings, even ritual sacrifice. Those who had the ability to see the spirits were exorcising them as fast as possible, while those who could, were trying to repair wards that had been torn apart. It had been over a week, and though no further church, shrine, temple, mosque, or sacred burial site had imploded, he had not felt a significant change in the spiritual atmosphere at all.

Pushing off of the door, he took a few steps down the quiet wing and stopped before another door. Gently knocking he waited a moment, but did not receive an answer – not that he expected to. Opening it, he took a peek inside and encountered the same monotonous beeping noises from the same type of monitors that also stood in Himawari's room. While Sumeragi and Himawari were both physically in a coma-like state, spiritualists who had come to examine the two had told not only him but others that their actual states were completely different. Syaoran had learned that Sumeragi's coma-like state was a result of the spiritual pressure overload that had come right at the collapse of both Asakusa and Sensou-ji. It would be up to Sumeragi to find a way to climb out of the hole that he had fallen into, for all onmyouji of the country were busy in trying to contain and repair the disaster. No one could be spared.

As for Himawari, her diagnosis by spiritualists was puzzling, for they could not determine what was wrong with her. Even her last words puzzled them, though he had stated that her presence was quite odd when he had been carrying her to CLAMP School's campus. He had felt a flicker from her that seemed like a shining beacon that would attract all manners of bad omens. He didn't know if it was true or not, since with the chaos outside, the school campus had been under a lot of strain in disseminating their resources.

Seeing no change in Sumeragi's state, he closed the door and resumed his walk down the hall. Passing by a few nurses and doctors, he acknowledged their greetings with a wave and greeting of his own before heading to the elevator and taking it down to the ground floor. In the halls on the ground floor, he occasionally had to stand back and flatten himself to the stone walls as groups of school children of all ages passed by, on their way to and from classes. For the most part, they paid him no attention, though some did cast a few curious glances at him, and he could only assume that it was all due to the clothes he was wearing.

The clothes that he worn when he had arrived in over a week ago were stored in his own room on the campus, and he was wearing more normal clothing, though he was quite sure that people of this particular country did not normally dress in a _changpao_. Takamura had stated that the dressage he wore was slightly different than an actual _changpao_ from the country of China – the dark green outer jacket had been extended to his ankles, with it split into four sections near the waist to not restrict movement. It was also tailored to fit him, while the pant and high-collared inner white shirt under the jacket was not as loose but still fitted him quite comfortably.

They had all been allowed to stay on the campus, though in reality, only he, along with Watanuki were the only ones staying for now. Aoki had stated that he had family to protect and would try to convince them to stay at the campus for the time being. Kishuu Arashi, another former Dragon of Heaven who had arrived only two days ago, and former miko of Ise Shrine, had decided to stay at a small apartment near the campus. Monou had initially stayed for a few days, but currently, he was returning to his home to retrieve an object. Kishuu had gone with him to ensure that what had happened to him during the investigation at Asakusa did not happen again.

Earlier in the morning, Monou had stated in a vague manner, something about potentially adding a layer of protection or ward around the school's campus. Since none of the remaining Dragons had the ability to summon a Kekkai, they had yet to formulate a proper plan in trying to prevent anymore holy sites from being mysteriously destroyed. Though they did not have a dreamseer within the group, Syaoran had told the Dragons everything that he could remember from what his wife had told him about her dreams.

There were some initial doubts to the extent of the dreams and increase in danger, but after Kishuu had described the spiritual state of the world, much of those doubts had been dispelled. Syaoran had learned that Kishuu had abilities as a priestess that allowed her to sense the spiritual plane, much like he did, though she was more sensitive to it than he was. Believing was one thing, the other was trying to solve the problem at hand – which was quite irritatingly elusive for no one knew who or what had caused the religious places to implode or collapse...or if there would be more coming.

There was a more pressing concern on his mind other than the cause of the implosions, Watanuki, or the oppressive atmosphere of ghosts outside of the campus. Monou had described the solid-looking ghost that had attacked him, and Syaoran had provided a description of the one that had attacked Watanuki – to him both were eerily familiar in looks and description to match the Wraiths that inhabited the planar state in his world. Though his world called them wraiths, Kishuu had described them as oni, or as close to a typical description of what oni constituted in this country.

With many sites destroyed, he could not help but wonder if the spirits unleashed were bleeding through worlds. It that were true, then how many other worlds were as affected as this one or the one he came from? He knew that his wife was extraordinarily skilled in the spiritual arts, as were the people who guarded the priests performing the placation rituals, but considering how paranoid and _strange_ people acted in this world, he still worried for his home.

But he had a duty here and he was not going to abandon it – all had to be done for the sake of stopping the madman Reed. Three more oni had been encountered by him, Aoki, and Kishuu in the past few days, but they did not seem to be interested in possessing humans and merely seemed content in frightening ordinary people. The three of them had eliminated the oni with little fanfare, but all three oni had put up a fight when they were threatened. He was quite glad that possession by spirits had not happened yet, but as time dragged on, he had a hunch that it would soon happen. The chaos that was now being faced the various nations in this world would be paltry in comparison to a fully-fledged demon army given form.

The sound of birds twittering and taking flight, along with the familiar presence of both Kishuu and Monou making themselves known drew him out of his thoughts as he looked up and saw the two land softly in a courtyard. There was something long, cross-like, and wrapped in a fine blue cloth in Monou's hand. Seeing his curiosity, Monou took a step forward and unraveled a part of the object, revealing the hilt and a small part of the blade – it was a long sword.

Syaoran's eyes widened as he stared at the elegant hilt – a dual-handed grip with purple wrappings around it. The guard of the sword was a sweeping sail that started from the middle of the hilt and curved to wrap around the blade. Two wings flared out where the blade met the hilt and guard. There was a red jewel inset at the meeting point, on both sides, and there was a golden inscription hammered to the base end of the blade. However, it was not the deadly beauty of the sword that had him surprised, it was the fact that Sakura had given him and sealed the same sword into his body.

“This was one of the two Shinken used thirteen years ago,” Monou quietly stated before wrapping the ensemble back up. “The campus had a device that was able to hold and seal Kamui's Shinken until he was ready to face Dark Kamui in battle. I'm hoping that the device is still accessible and can be reversed to provide a better ward for the campus and possibly for the city.”

“That is a bit selfish,” he pointed out, deciding to remain silent about his own sealed sword. He saw Kishuu frown at his words as he continued to say, “A city for the world?”

“I know it is,” Monou answered, but seemed not to be offended. “But it was this city that held the fate of the world thirteen years ago. This is also where the Earth's Kekkai was born and like you said to us, the dreamseers have stated that if this place falls, then others will suffer the same fate. I have a promise to keep.”

He silently nodded at the man's words, understanding the deeper meaning to it and did not press the issue. Before the three of them could head indoors to find the headmaster, the air in the center of the courtyard seemed to twist and bend. Both Monou and Kishuu took a few steps back, with Kishuu's sword _slurp_ ing out of her hand. She gripped in tightly and positioned herself in a guarded stance while Monou raised a hand, ready to unleash telekinetic blasts. Syaoran took a step back, sinking slightly into a ready stance, but even with an incoming traveler, one never knew if the traveler was friendly or antagonistic.

A _sloop-plop_ sound was heard as the sky suddenly cleared like a droplet hitting a hard surface, revealing the world-crossing traveler. An unbidden smile curled up on Syaoran's lips as he recognized the traveler, though the traveler took a moment to shake himself out before standing up.

“Here, there, everywhere,” the traveler said, smiling as he slowly turned to look at his surroundings, clutching something in between his arm and body. “It's been a while since we've met, Syaoran, though I didn't expect to see you here...and whoa...” Relaxing, Syaoran could not help but close the distance and stood next to the traveler, not only to assuage Monou and Kishuu's shocked expressions, but to also let the two Dragons know that this particular traveler meant no harm.

“This is a first...” the traveler said, his expression nearly mirroring that of Monou's widened eyes of disbelief.

“There's a first time for everything,” Syaoran answered, clapping his long-time close friend and ally on the back. “Monou Fuuma-san and Kishuu Arashi-san, I would like you to meet one of my friends and a Hunter for the Dimensional Witch: Fuuma.”

* * *

The first thing Subaru heard was silence. It was not the silence that one normally found when sitting alone in a room or the usual silence most experienced that came with ambient background noises. This silence was accompanied by absolutely nothing, and it was that nothing that woke him up. Blinking, he felt and heard the whispers of the Sakura Tree fill the strange void before settling down to a cautious state. Colorful hues that initially stood blurry in his eyes slowly resolved themselves into coherent shapes as he flexed his limbs and gingerly sat up.

Tall shelves, stacked full of books surrounded him, and the carpet that he had been lying on felt warm. Bright sunlight streamed through windows that he could not see, and there seemed like an air of relaxation hanging about. There was even the faint sound of songbirds twittering somewhere near the area. However, it was the overwhelming spiritual presence that could not be felt anywhere else in the world that told him where he was. Was he dead?

The answer immediately came to him as the sharply warm whisper of Setsuka, amplified by the Sakura Tree's presence told him that he was not dead – at least not in the sense of actually being quite dead. Rather, he had somehow been thrown into Enma, and his anchor to the land of the living was the damn Tree. However, cautious whispers floated across his mind – all of it from the Tree – as she told him that though she was an anchor, there was a torrent of spiritual chaos flooding the living land. She would anchor him and keep him alive in a minimal state, but she could not draw him back – she didn't have the strength to.

 _Comatose then_ , he thought, and the irony did not escape his notice. He had gone Within for only two comatose patients before, to bring them back out and to help give them a reason to continue living. It was a very dangerous spell to perform, and it was seldom done by even the most experienced or practiced onmyouji. With spiritual chaos gripping the land of the living, there would be no one attempting the dive Within him, and he would have to find a way to get himself out of this state.

He briefly wondered if the strange presence and sensation he had felt just moments before the torii at Asakusa exploded contributed to it, but found that though the place was quite saturated with spiritual energy, it was dense and non-manipulative to him. In a way, it made perfect sense, for if spiritualists who came down here found it easy to form, mold and configure the land of the dead to their needs, then they would be kings among kings. Only the dead were allowed to shape their home with ease, just as he was only allowed to perform spells in the land of the living.

It did not stop him, though from sensing a very strange 'chill', if one could call it that, that lingered in the air. Tendrils that had a faint sinister presence seemed to stretch out over him and scatter to parts unknown. Though he could not physically see it, he could feel the spiritual spiderweb that it created, and not knowing how to find or locate any person here, perhaps following it would be the best choice for now. He could feel the Tree's cautious whisper floating in his mind, but it was quickly squashed by the insistent whispers of Setsuka who urged him to stay.

Clenching his jaw for a moment as he batted the woman's voice away, he squared his shoulders and set off on the direction towards where the tendrils' origins were. There were many things that he long accepted and come to terms with since the events of thirteen years ago, but accepting the 'advice' of the most prominent voice in all of the former Sakurazukamori who had their souls bound to the Sakura Tree at death was not one of them. Not only was she manipulative, she also plagued his dreams with what could have been – of what his life could have been had that fated year not happen.

The first time she had invaded his dreams, he had not known that she was there, changing the course of his dream into a sick fantasy of what she wanted to see until it was too late. He had woken up, doused in cold sweat, with sheets tangled in between his legs, and the all-too terrifyingly near-real sensation of being choked to death by Seishirou. His usual dreams that involved Seishirou had been frightening twists of romantic could-have-beens interspersed with violence. Before he had become the Sakurazukamori, his dreams had ranged from the dully benign to graphically sexual ones that were almost always buried so deep in his mind that he forgot about them until they haunted him again.

Now though, almost all of his dreams, no matter how vivid or mundane, ended with the painful memory of what happened on Rainbow Bridge. The first time Setsuka had invaded his dreams and rode it out to the end of the Rainbow Bridge memory, she had then tried to whisper to him, using an imitation of Seishirou's voice. It didn't work, for by then, his mental defenses had already been erected and stripped Setsuka of her illusion. She had proceeded to disappear in a whirlwind of insane laughter that echoed in his mind.

After that, he had gone to sleep with more caution, even willing himself to sleep without dreams at times. Now, after living with the whispers for thirteen years, he knew how to easily stop her from affecting him. He could never be rid of her, but he was not going to give her the satisfaction of making himself more of a mental mess than he already was.

Pausing for a moment in his walk, he looked up and saw that now, the tendrils were definitely giving off a more sinister feeling than before and they were definitely thicker and lower. Visually, he could see the faint outline of them, as if they were neurons from a brain that was sporadically firing off impulses, or just an overgrown tree that had branches racing towards more energy. The outline of the tendrils seemed to glow in a faint iridescent purple color with occasional hiccups of black blotches covering parts of it.

He dared not to reach up, but instead, summoned his familiar with a thought. There was a faint screech of acknowledgment in his mind as he felt the weight of the bird settle on his shoulder for a brief moment before taking flight. For this particular scouting, he did not need the triplets, and only need them to merge as one. He was as surprised as the Sakura Tree, though, to see that he was still able to use his powers in such a place. However, caution from the Tree whispered across his mind, telling him not to use high level spells, since the condition of his body and the sakanagi that would be generated in response was unknown. He chose to acknowledge the caution. As for Setsuka, he heard nothing and was satisfied with her silence.

Refocusing himself, he took a deep breath and concentrated on stretching out his senses and pouring the familiar's vision into his own. In his mind's eye, he could see that the branches extended towards the center of what looked like to be a web. Spiraling down the center of the web was a dark vortex. There were barriers around the vortex, but it seemed more like the bark or base of a hollow tree than a spiderweb at that point. There was, however, a very faint presence that felt familiar, but try as he might, even through his familiar, he could not identify it. A strange, unbidden image surfaced in his mind – Tokyo – along with the faint sounds of...bells?

An incomprehensible screech lanced across his mind, sending him rocketing back into his body as he blinked and realized that the sound had come from the Sakura Tree of all things. The Tree's presence was also fainter, but that was the least of his concerns as the silence was shattered with the sounds of footsteps behind him. Turning, he found himself rooted to the spot, not by any spell, but by his own will as the person approached. Familiar with the gait and sound of the person's footsteps, along with the confidence and charisma that was present in any situation, Subaru felt a thrill of panic overtake him.

“Seishirou-san,” he whispered.

 

~*~*~*~

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah hahahahah! Hunter!Fuuma shows up...so three guesses as to who else will be showing up in later chapters... *evil laughter*. And just a reminder that time (as living people know it) is pretty much non-existent in the underworld, which is why hours, days, weeks, even months can pass for Subaru and he wouldn't even know it. Also, I can always count on Syaoran to be Mr. Expository... *sighs and shakes head* 
> 
> Changpao – male equivalent of a chipao (qipao/cheongsam). As a non-native but fairly fluent Mandarin speaker, I normally write the way things are pronounced when it comes to the language – I don't write the Cantonese pronunciation or subscribe to other “official” writing convention. The exception is Syaoran's name, which is written per CLAMP...though if I had my way, Syaoran would actually be written as Xiaolang.
> 
> Character Nods:  
> \- Ibuki Rion – from CLAMP School Paranormal Investigators. She'll probably only have cameos and no actual lines.  
> \- Shiyuu Kusanagi and Nekoi Yuzuriha – it seemed like they're destined to be married after the anime ended. It's also kinda implied that Kusanagi and Yuzuriha have relocated to Okinawa following the end of X/1999 and are working indirectly in a military base.


End file.
